Week 6 | 6 Semanas down in the CCM!!

Hola Familia!!!!!!

Thank you thank you thank you for your letters, emails, and package! I love them so much, I can't even describe how much I love hearing from you. This week has been a bit crazy, but very good as usual. Another Elder in our district went home at the same time as Elder R and so now me and Elder T are companions! He is awesome, we are super close, he is hilarious and we are doing great! Our district only has 4 Elders in it now which is kinda crazy. It is small so we get alot of help from all of our teachers. We are all 4 great friends so it makes it fun. Spanish continues to improve, it is easy to hit a certain point of mastery and start to not work as hard, so I have been trying to work hard on it every day. We teach LOTS of lessons here at the MTC. It is really hard at first, and we all think that the people that set this place up are crazy, but it is an inspired system! We learn so much about how to rely on the spirit as we teach. It is humbling and it prepares us so much for the field. Once again we had an amazing devotional yesterday. It was awesome. I am taught by the spirit so much here. We learned about how as missionaries we are truly living the law of consecration. It is real, and the blessings of living it are real. I feel it, and I hope you feel it. "The only surrender that is also a victory, is to consecrate one's heart to the Lord"

The package was perfecto! It was exactly perfect, thank you thank you! (big cyber hug) Thank you Meg and Brandon for the Pumpkin bread also! It was sooooo good! Thank you harless's too!!

I am glad that Aaron got my letter, I was prompted many times to write it :)

Your pictures look awesome mom! I am so excited for the holidays as well! Thanksgiving here is gonna be awesome. An apostle should be coming, and we are doing some big service project thing. I will miss you all, and think of how thankful I am for you all day, so I will be there in spirit! What are your plans for turkey day!??

I did get all of Tanner's letters, I have only been able to send him a short email, because of the stupid 30 minute timers on these computers that give me anxiety. I love hearing from him. Two elders from my zone left to go to the Guatemala MTC and I gave them a letter to give to him, and instructions to give him a huge hug for me, haha. Thank you for a Matt Hodgson mission update!!! Next up I would love a Ty Clark update too!!! :)

Dad, I am so proud of ya!!! Way to be!! I have been working out alot here too! I have been running 1-2 miles a day, which has helped me to feel alot better. Keep it up!  I am still a zone leader with Elder T, and it's great. I have had alot of opportunities to serve the other Elders in our zone, some struggle alot.

It snowed a ton here at the beggining of the week, and has been freezing cold, so it has just barely started to melt. I love getting mail, tell people to write me!

I say it every week, but I LOVE being a missionary, it is so great. I love being able to focus 100% on the Lord, and doing his work. It is definately not easy, but I have been richly blessed. I love you all so much. I think about  you and pray for you every day. I am so happy. Being a missionary makes me so happy. One email would never be enough to sum up how much I have learned about myself and about the gospel in the last six weeks. I wish I could share all that I have learned. This gospel is true, and we are blessed in proportion to how much we are converted to the Lord, and ACT. We should be so happy every day that we are part of this marvelous work. I am getting so excited to go out into the 'real world' and share this wonderful message of hope and love. There is truly nothing more important in the whole world than the simple principles of the gospel. Have a wonderful pre thanksgiving week! I love you all so much. I am so happy, and I am even happier when I think about you all!

LOVE

Elder Taylor Hughes

ah I tried to send pics, and these stupid computers hate me, next week!!!

I love you!

Week 5 | Semana # 5 @ el CCM

Hola Familia!!!!!

 

Thank you for all your letters and emails! I loved them. Life is going good here at the MTC! I feel like I am such a boring email writer because every week is pretty much the same here, haha, except I know more spanish and know more about the gospel! Today was kind of a hard day, my companion Elder R went home :( He had some personal things to clear up, so that is a big bummer. He was a great Elder, so that has been what we have all been dealing with today. Now I am in a trio with Elder D and Elder E. But that might change. ANYWAY. On to more optimistic matters.

 

I am doing great, my spanish is coming along well, I learn more every single day. I actually think that spanish is really fun to speak. I feel the spirit so much here, that is what makes the MTC so great. We are free from all distractions that can take away from the spirit. We heard the election news... kind of a bummer.. but the gospel is infinitely more important than any politcal party. Being at the MTC has helped me to see what really matters. Here people talked about the election a bit, but our priorites as missionaries are on a much different plane. We had another amazing devotional yesterday. I can't even begin to describe how much I love devotionals here. A member of the 70 spoke about true discipleship, and how we are ALL on a path to becoming true disciples. We need diligence, christlike love, feasting on the words of christ, and submitting our will to the Lord. Then we will be better disciples and love more, and serve more, and be FULL of JOY!

 

I love the pictures mom, fantastic work as always. Thanks dad for the poem, I loved it. I wrote a letter today for Uncle Aaron, I have felt prompted a couple of times to write him, and I have gotten alot more bold about sharing the gospel since I have been here *hint*hint* haha. That is SUCH awesome news about Sheldon, tell him I am so excited for him! Riley, my thoughts exactly on the election. Z man, tell Tyler I say hi, I am so glad that you are friends with him! I love you too Z man and I miss you and think of you every day! Mom, I loved the cinnamon rolls you sent, THANK YOU. My district and zone thank you as well (i shared) I still haven't gotten your other package yet... hopefully soon!!

 

Yes, I am hitting that point of the MTC, where I am so excited to go to Arizona! I can't wait. It is mixed emotions though, because at the same time I know that I still have ALOT to learn about teaching, and spanish. But excitement is mostly what I feel. I really do enjoy the MTC, I have made some great friends. It definitely isn't easy but I am being blessed beyond measure. I am filled with joy when I hear of your blessings as my family. There is nothing else I would rather be doing than what I am doing now. I LOVE the gospel, it is true, every single word. Focus on the simple basic truths of the gospel, that is where the power is. Faith, repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost are what we should be focusing on every day. I am so happy here, I can't help but smile every day, and that is how we should be all the time! We have the restored gospel that teaches us how to have peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come, we should be smiling ALL THE TIME. I love all of you so much. I miss you. I think of you every day. I have been blessed with all of you, and I can't help but smile every time I think of our family. Sorry my letters don't have tons of interesting details haha, it's because the MTC doesn't have too many interesting details. Keep writing lots, it makes my whole day when I get mail

 

Until next Wednesday!!

 

LOVE,

 

Elder Hughes

 

Week Four | Semana 4 en el CCM

Hola Familia!!

Happy Halloween! That saying doesn't mean a whole lot here in the MTC haha, its just a normal day :) Thank you for your letters and email! I loved all the giants pictures, I am so pumped for the Giants (my district is probably getting tired of me talking about how happy I am that they won!) I only wish I could have been there to celebrate with my favorite Giants fans. Send my love to the Voges!

Zach, like usual I am the proudest big brother in the world that you are reppin' the Y all the time. Wise choice my brother :) I'm glad you are still tearing it up in cross country!

Congrats Rilo on a great football season. I was thinking today, how I can't believe you are going to be 16 in a couple months!!! CRAZY! And now with the new missionary ages you will be preparing to serve before you know it!

Mom, I am so glad your work is going well. You should email me some of your favorites, I would love to see! You are right, I would go with you to Bishop's pumpkin farm if I was there. I am so glad that your weather is awesome, it definately feels like fall here too, except when it snowed a week ago... Thank you for your letter. I read your letter that you put in my suitcase all the time. I smile every time.

Dad, I love you! I am glad you got to teach that story to your class, it is my all time favorite chapters of scripture.

Even in the 'iron bubble' of the MTC we heard about the storm on the east coast... sounds crazy. We heard there are some pretty intense pictures from NYC.

As for me there is not too much too report. Just livin the same great MTC life everyday. I feel the spirit SO much here. Spanish is coming along, it's alot of work, but it's going well. I have awesome teachers, and I have learned SO much. The gift of tongues is a real thing. Being a zone leader has been good, I learn alot about how far I need to come as a missionary. We find alot of creative ways to have fun here. There is currently an ongoing battle called 'spooning' where at meals people slip spoons into your jackets/pockets and we all end up discovering them throughout the day. Our classroom is on the 5th floor of a building, and we go back and forth many times a day, so our legs get quite the workout climbing 5 flights of stairs 10 times a day haha. Going to the temple on P day is great. The Provo temple is beautiful on the inside. The devotionals here are some of my favorite parts about the MTC, the spirit is awesome. I sing in the choir every week which is great. The guy that directs the choir is hands down one of the funniest mormons I have ever met. Sundays are super relaxing days here.

The spirit has taught me so many things here, I have even created a list of 'things I am going to do in the field' so that I don't forget all the things that I have learned about how to be the best missionary I can be. I truly know that the Book of Mormon has real power. PLEASE read it every day, and literal spiritual guidance, direction, and revelation will pour down upon you. We cannot have the Book of Mormon as just a symbol of our membership it has to be a daily part of our lives.

Now things I need: I never got the pictures you said you sent... :( Please forward me Tanner's email, he forgot to send it to me.The next time you send a package stick a sweater in there, I only have t shirts and dress shirts. PRETTY PLEAAASE send me all of tyler, mathew and spencer's letters that I have missed :) Thank you so much! Keep writing me lots, and telling other people too, words cannot express how much I love getting mail haha. Dad, send me uncle Aaron's address, I have been thinking about writing him a letter :)

Mom, Dad, Riley, and Z man. I love you guys so much, I am so grateful for your support. I LOVE being a missionary. I am not wasting one day of the sacrifice that we all have made. I love you all so much, Whenever things get hard, I think of you guys and I smile, and then press forward. I can't believe it's already been a month! I love and miss you all so much!

Love

Elder Taylor Hughes