Arrival

Hey there family, This is just to say that we arrived safely and all in one piece. We have had such a wonderful trip and things have all worked out fine. Pres. and Sis. Schmutz are the greatest! they are so welcoming and kind and have taught us so many things already about what to do, and what not to do in the philippines. They accommodated us all for the night and today we have our transfer meeting and will be getting our companions to train us for the next 6 weeks. Of the 11 of us, 6 will be going to Cebu and the other 5 to Bohol. So next pday when i get to email ill let you all know where ive ended up. Love you all and miss you, Naghigugma ko kaninyo! Elder Taylor Addison Cox

Airport Phone call

Taylor flew from Salt Lake to San Francisco and then on to Hong Kong and then to Cebu. While he was in San Francisco he called us. (longer than 5 mins too!) We were able to speak to him for about and hour and a half. He called in the afternoon which was around midnight in San Francisco while they were waiting to catch their plane to Hong Kong. There were 11 missionaries all together on the flights. We all (as in myself, Stoo and Reilly) got to speak with Taylor. He was looking forward to be finally getting to Cebu. I was a little concerned because of the typhoon that had left the Philippines and was heading for China, but I knew they would all be kept safe.

Letter # 8 (September 21st, 2011)

Hey all! Happy Birthday Mum! ...I remembered at about 4 on Sunday that it was your birthday... that still counts right? haha First up the package size... 24" x 16" x 9" ...and it also said NOT to send it via Fed Ex or DHL cause then the missionary ends up with a big fee they have to pay to pick it up. The Dear elder will get through so long as you send it before the weekend. then after that just email. Then i get to call home on Sun which will be between 7-10 on Monday morning. We got our flight plans on Thurs. We dont leave till 4:30pm on Tues from the MTC. at 8:15 our trip begins at salt lake flying to San franciso, then from san fran to Hong Kong, and then from Hong Kong directly to Cebu. Only one problem i face with the flights is that its only one carry-on and a backpack counts as a carry-on... so ill just pack my carry-on bag with my books and stuff and put it as checked luggage. I got a package from Andrew, Kirsten, Ethan and Harry... can you please thank them for me. It was much appreciated! Our district gets to host new missionaries again this week on Weds. Basically we help them get all their stuff to their residence, get their books and things and drop them off at their classrooms. I havent gained much more weight at all... i think im at 62kg at the moment... but i have been running alot more recently. About 1-2km each gym depending on how im feeling. My calves are starting to tone up really well. Yes you can eat as much fruit as you want to here at the MTC, but honestly you wouldnt want to... the apples are like dust when you bite into them and the bananas are just gross. The only good fruit here is the stuuf they put into their peach cobbler thingo they have for desert usahay(sometimes). We'll see how the food in the pines agrees with me when i get there and have been there for the first week... dont worry i'll let you know. So from today we have exactly one week left here at the MTC. Things have progressed well, we have learnt much and made some friendships for life. Everyone seems to be excited for the philippines and some more nervous than others. I hope that people are planning to write to me once i get to the philippines casue so far here its been pretty pathetic to be honest. Not much mail from anyone... but i am comparing myself to a bunch of americans with family relatively close. About the pictures... yes... everything... just pictures that show who i was and the people i hung out with, the things i did... please that would be great, thanks Finally, this months ensign is amazing... dont know if youve got it yet... its all about the Book of Mormon and it has heaps of talks all about the role it plays in our lives. I finished the Book of Mormon on Sunday and so im starting again. I love the spirit it brings and the peace i feel from it. I dont know if Reilly told you but i asked him to get you all to read the Book of Mormon together. I know that the Book or Mormon is the word of God written for us in these last days. I know that through reading the Book of Mormon we can become closer to our Heavenly Father and our Saviour Jesus Christ. I know that it can help us to feel the Spirit, and to feel peace in our lives. Miss you all heaps, Love you muchly, Talk to you later when i call, Elder Taylor Addison Cox ****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Terri here: As you can see Taylor is not bothering with spelling, or too much where words should have capitals etc. So just read them as they are, I was fixing it all, but now it's just getting too much so I'm just leaving them how he writes them!! We got to speak with Taylor on the Monday morning for about 5 mins. It was so good to hear his voice. He is excited to be finally going to the Philippines.