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 

Week Three | from the EM TEE SEE

Hola Familia!!!

Thank you for your letters and dear elders! I loved them! It seriously cannot be expressed how much I love getting mail :) I am doing great! Life in the MTC is slipping into a blur of routine, but it is great! Yes, you heard the news right, Elder R and I got called as zone leaders, we were both in pretty much complete shock. We were not expecting it at all. It is alot of responsibility, but it will be great. We get to train all the missionaries that arrived in our zone tonight. Life here is going good. Spanish is coming along, it gets better every day. The biggest challenge isn't learning it, because I can learn everything pretty fine, the challenge is being able to actually speak it when you are in a lesson haha. We teach investigators in spanish every single day, and our lessons are getting better and better every time so that is good. I LOVE our teachers, they are both amazing and hilarious. Which we all need when we study for 10 hrs a day :) The spirit here is so strong. I feel it literally every single day. It is such an exciting time to be on a mission. The world is going to get alot more missionaries in the coming years, and it is exciting to be part of it. Saying bye to tanner on tuesday was really hard... probably the hardest thing I have ever done. I am going to miss him so much. I felt like I was saying goodbye to part of myself. I had a hard time that night, but I know that the Lord answers prayers. The spirit comforted me. I know that it is all part of the Lord's plan. I LOVE being a missionary, I feel that every day. It is hard sometimes, and it demands alot of patience and discipline, but it also is SO JOYFUL! There is nothing else I would rather be doing. We lost 5 people in our district to the guatemala mtc at the same time as tanner, which has been weird. We went from 11 in our class to 6. The brightside, we have alot more legroom, I was crammed in the corner so I am happy to have some more space haha.

As for your questions. I am so mentally exhausted every night that I literally fall asleep within  2 minutes of my head hitting the pillow so no problem there haha. The food is okay... it wrecks havoc on all of our stomachs haha, but we are thankful for it. As for things I need/want... not any candy we have a TON of it. ummmmmmmmmmm you know me, I can never think of things I want. I would say mints, but I got in trouble for eating them in the classroom haha. I am so bad at thinking of things I want.

Dad I am so glad you are feeling better. OHHH YEEAAHH for the giants! Thank you Riley and Zach for your letters they made my whole day. Yes, I got a bunch of Tanner's dear elders after he left for Guatemala, so you will all have to write him again. Thank you Grandpa Val and Grandma Tanya for your letter, I couldn't stop laughing. I am glad your golf game is being blessed grandpa haha.

Probably one of my favorite parts of being here is the devotionals. They are awesome! I look forward to them every week.

I love you guys so much. Remember to read the Book of Mormon, it is literally the best book in the whole world. It makes me better every single time I read it. Power is given to us when we follow it's teachings. If you ever want a glimpse of what we learn about ALL day and what makes us so happy as missionaries, read preach my gosplel. (Best manual ever made by the church)

I love you all so much, you are in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for your prayers!

LOOOOOVE

Elder Hughes

** a note from mom . . . these will be the last pictures they take with each other for two years! they are extra special to us this week!

Week Two | Semana Dos en el CCM (Week two in the MTC!!!)

HOLA!!!

Hey Family! I'm so excited to email you!!

Wow, it is hard to think back on a week here at the MTC. I have been studying ALOT here, which is great. We are all mentally exhausted by the end of the day. I have learned SO much about the gospel. My testimony of this work is strengthened every day. Every day I am so thankful for my opportunity to serve the Lord. Spanish is getting better, slowly but surely, it is definitely a challenge for everyone, but we all are getting better. I can understand alot of spanish, and always know what my teachers are saying, but it is a whole different challenge to actually talk. We have continued to teach lessons pretty much every day, which is one of the most humbling things I have ever done. We have to rely so much on the spirit to help us teach. That is why they have the program set up that way. I have felt the spirit calm me down so many times. We continue to learn alot, I have been staying pretty positive about it. Sometimes my district gets super negative, and I have tried to always help us to have a positive view on things. We lose 5 people from our district to the Guatemala MTC this week which will be sad, and Tanner leaves this week :( I will miss him SO much, but it is also so exciting. We play sand volleyball in gym every day which is a blast! I have gotten alot better at volleyball.

Sundays at the MTC are amazing, they are peaceful, and relaxing. With all the work we do at the MTC we also have a blast too. The Elders that live next door to us, who are in our zone are super funny, and CRAZY. They made a full on slingshot from an exercise band and shot gummy bears at the whole hall. Another interesting game we played was that we realized that we don't know anyone's first names, so we all tried to guess each other's first names. I was especially good at it for some reason, haha. I guessed two people's names in 3 tries :) We had another amazing devotional this week, the spirit was SO strong and taught me so much. I KNOW this church is true with all of my heart and soul. I have felt it time and time again. The Book of Mormon is the BEST book on earth, read it everyday, and our lives will be blessed tremendously. Preach My Gospel is the most amazing manual that the church has.

I hope Dad is feeling better, I prayed for you :) Thank you thank you thank you to all of you who wrote me letters!! The Voges, thank you so much for you package it made me so happy, the bread was wonderful, expect some mail in return :) Jamie, I loved your letter, I sent the reply to your house in Rocklin. Sis. Harless and Zack thank you so much for your letters! and the Buxton's and Rachel, thank you so much, expect some mail too :)

Oh crazy small world, Grandma and Grandpa. An elder that lives next door to me is from Layton and we figured out he is from your ward! Elder Seth Christensen. Such a small world.

Mom, send me some family pics and my friends missionary letters preeeety pleeeeassee.

 Mom, Dad, Rilo and Z man I love you guys so much! I miss you and LOVE you. I love our eternal family. You are always in my prayers.

Love your missionary,

Elder Taylor Hughes

First P-Day Email | Week One

Hola! From the MTC!!!

Hey family!!!!

It is finally P day here in the MTC! I have to type super fast because of having only thirty minutes :) Hopefully you got my letter that I finally mailed, I had to wait until I got your dear elder because Tanner and I couldn't remember the new address haha. I am doing wonderful! Mission life is great, it is REALLY tiring mentally but it is great! The spirit of the MTC is real, I feel it all the time. The first day here was absolutely nuts, probably the most overwhelming day of my life, but it was great. I have an awesome companion Elder R, he is so great. He is from Salt Lake City and he and I get along great. We are all in awe that it has only been a week here in the MTC, it feels like it has been a month. Our teacher is Hermano Wadsworth, and he is super cool. They don't waste any time dumping you into spanish. Our teacher hasn't said more than 5 minutes of english too us in a whole week.. which is hard. They definitiely  humble you. We have already taught 3 entire lessons in caveman spanish as we call it. It is amazing how the spirit helps us as missionaries. Elder R and I always get super anxious before our lesson, and are usually stressed after, but the spirit comforts us and guides us every time we are IN a lesson. I am so grateful for that. Thank you mom for your letter and food, I was surprised to find it. I love the letter, I love reading it. My district is great, we have 5 elders going to Tucson, one to Roseville CA, and 3 Hermanas are going to Guatemala. They are all wonderful, I will tell you more about them when I have more email time :) I see lots of people I know here, Elder R can't believe how many people I know here. I saw Cheryl! I have seen Elder Fletcher, Eirik and I hangout and talk all the time since he lives next door to me. Jaelyn Hatch's cousin lives next door to me. Alyssa Johnson is in my zone so I see her all the time which is great! I play volleyball with her district and we all go to the temple at the same time. It's super fun. I have seen Elder Greenwood twice. Sister E in our ward, her daughter, Sister S I have seen alot too!! Conference was SO great! You should have seen the gasp/scream/shock that every missionary had when they announced the new ages. I think it is wonderful! How exciting for the sisters. The spirit of General Conference was great! I loved to hear so many inspiring words from our prophets and apostles. What an experience it is to sing called to serve with thousands of missionaries. The spirit witnesses so strongly. Our days are full of studying and working all day. It is tiring, but we learn alot! I have grown so much in just a week here. The food at the MTC is... not that great.. but it works, I cannot even think about 8 more weeks of it haha. I love being a missionary!! The spirit is with us. I have felt many times that the Lord is really with his missionaries, he does not leave us without help. It is his work. Elder Bednar spoke to us on Tuesday night at devotional. It was indescribably amazing. The only thing he said about the new missionary announcement is that "The Lord is hastening his work on the earth." pretty awesome. His talk was awesome. He talked about the way he an apostle of the Lord studies the gospel, lets just say its really cool :) The spirit was amazing. Ok, dear elder. For some dumb reason Tanner gets all of my dear elder mail.... so I talked to the mailroom people and they said that when you submit mine, you have to put an X or another letter in front of my name, so that get it. Tell lots of people to write me, give out my address etc. I LOVE getting mail, it is like gold in the MTC :) I know this church is true. I love you all SO much, I pray for you and miss you. I am wrapping up this letter so I have time to send pics! I love you all so much!!!

Love,

Elder Hughes

and here is his second email:

bad picture news . . . 

I tried my best to attatch some pictures, but I can´t figure out the MTC computers... bummer. I love you all. Oh, I got some shots, and they were expensive... I will have them send you an insurance paper to fill out. Shots was actually interesting because another elder passed out BAD and faceplanted it from a chair, scary but kinda funny 

LOTS OF LOVE

Elder Taylor Hughes 

"we'll see you soon.........."

Elder Hughes & Elder Hughes entered the MTC on October 3, 2012. I think it was one of the hardest days. I also know it was one of the best days. A day we had looked forward to for so long. I look back at these pictures and feel so much comfort as I see the smile on their faces and the way they were whisked away by such great young men. We didn't want to say "goodbye" just "we'll see you soon!"