DAVID BOWIE IS DEAD???

I couldn't believe it when I first heard about it. Ah. I just can't.

And Blackstar topped Adele's 25 on the charts?? That's unbelievable!! Is it a good album? I can't wait to hear it.

Anyway, it's been such a great week. The Lord has blessed us so much. I don't know if I've ever felt happier than I do here on the mission. I feel really confident that once I return home I'll be able to say that the mission was the best two years of my life.

And, it's been two months already?? Also unbelievable.

This week we've just been working hard and having a lot of fun doing it. We've been receiving a lot of referrals (a pretty miraculous amount, to be honest) and it's led us to some amazing people.

One thing I've seen is yet another testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon. People who don't want to hear a thing from us will suddenly open their minds so much as soon as they read from the book. One lady we teach, named Debbie Norris, is probably crazy. She tells us there are millions of blackbirds living in her attic and they all come in through this hole by her window. (the hole doesn't exist.) and she is just really uneducated and doesn't know how to read/comprehend super well which is pretty typical of a surprising amount of people down here. (I never thought such poverty could exist in America. Maybe I'll send a few pictures next week of places where people live in the poorer neighborhoods so you guys can see what I mean. It's pretty bad. Did I already say that white privilege is really a really thing? Because it's really such a real thing.)

Anyway, we read the Book of Mormon a couple of days ago with her, and it was just amazing how it opened her mind. It was super obvious too. We could literally hear her reading and comprehension improving as she read first Nephi chapter one. It was awesome. When we finished the chapter, we asked her how she felt, and she told us she felt like she doesn't need to worry about all the crazy things like the blackbirds anymore. So yep, it was a small miracle, but a miracle it was.

The other thing I've learned is how much of a difference taking members to your lessons can make. It's really more of a psychological thing than anything. People honestly don't trust us missionaries most of the time. They see us basically like salesmen, the only difference is, we're selling a church. When you bring a member of the church, though, they see that member as a real human being. It's funny how obvious it is, when we watch investigators talk to us vs. talking to members, how much more they trust members of the church. It makes a really powerful difference in the lessons though. The members have real, human experience that comes not just from reading about God, but living life and learning of Him through their own experience. They have some really powerful testimonies to bear. It also helps that the members here are awesome.

Anyway, that's about all i have to say about the mission nowadays. Oh. one other thing. I actually have gotten to eat some somewhat exotic food. I ate a crawfish (not too exotic but weird) and got to pull it apart and everything. it about made me a vegetarian. And I ate some kind of root called yooka? that's how it's pronounced. It was pretty dang good.

People like to ask about food so there you go. That's all. The mission is so good, I just can't even express how good it is. Everyone should go on a mission, or something. I hope you guys are all finding happiness and fulfillment out there in life. All I have left to say is that God is real, and He is really good.

I love you all. And I would love you even more if you guys would e-mail me. I really appreciate the e-mails so far but as my good friend Elder Butler has said, some of you people need to repent!

-Elder taylor