Letter #51 (July 25th, 2012)

Hey all,
I absolutely hate the computers here. They are the most stupid sucky
computers in the world!!!!
Its 1 year tomorrow! ... miss you all soo much and things from back home...
but we have work to do and it will soon pass. We have a FHE tonight with
some members which is going to be great... so it will soon pass.

I did not expect the mission to go so fast as it has... I expected
that it would be much longer. But it has been amazing!
Things have been going well here and I have a funny story for you lot...
So last Friday, transfer day, Elder Banzon who is AP called us on the
cell phone... "Hey Elder Cox your scriptures are done, they look so
sweet, youre gonna love them. We'll probably just keep them and you can
pick them up at leadership training." Huh!?! "why will I be at
leadership training?" "Your District Leader!" WHAT!?! "Wait... the zone
leaders didn't tell me that! They said Elder Ratu is DL..." "Dili Oi!
Elder Ratu is just junior comp. he's not DL... you are... we told the
zone leaders..."

So turns out im DL... then that next day I performed my first baptismal
interview for the Bayawan elders and the candidate didnt speak cebuano
very well... only tagalog... mahirap talaga!

So this past Monday I had to teach a workshop for the District
meeting as well. It went well and we had the zone leaders come to sit
in a s well. So now we have supplies again for our house in terms of
pamphlets and copies of the book of Mormon. But turns out there are no
planners!!!! Argh! so hard to plan without planners!

Oh! I met a guy out in Bayawan that it turns out he served with Reggie
on his mission in his district. He was like "I knew this Australian
who would breakdance while we payed basketball... And i was like "That
is so my cousin Elder Jacobsen"... small world. He is Bro Timbangan...
you should ask Reggie if he remembers him... Terri here: Taylor's cousin served in the Philippines Angeles Mission about 5 years back!! Funny how the only 2 Aussies this guy meets happen to be related! hahaha

Monday after district meeting e had a "CSP"... On transfer
calls of last week (so last Wed) one of the elders in the
companionship that transferred said the CSP was claro... and this
elder is very reliable and honest.
Well it was definitely wa'y claro jud... morag C-S-P Chica-chica
Saka-saka Panaw-panaw!
We walked for a good 5 km into the bukid over streams and over
mountains through corn fields and shoulder high grass. Then we got to
this house that nanay was leadin us to and tatay was like "You should
all just rest..." and we were all like "No we need to work... this is
a CSP"
So tatay got us to take his two cows to get water and then took us to
his lubihan about another km away, got us to harvest botong (young
coconuts) and then drink them all for him... Huh???
Unsa man ni oi! We are definitely not having another CSP in that area
this transfer. My legs still hurt....

Hopefully this next week the rain will hold off so we can get to some
of the bukid areas to visit. Starting to miss visiting those members
in the layo areas.

Elder Bednar will be here in the mission for the next transfer day
on the last day of August... we will ALL go to Cebu for the transfer
meeting and then mission conference afterwards regardless if we are
transferring or not.

No pictures cause the fast internet is closed today for some
reason. this one is sooooooooo slow... We are sticking it here in Zambo
today, washing clothes, cleaning the house, recovering from the "CSP"
Miss you all tons
Love you all
Elder Taylor Addison Cox

Letter #50 (July 18th, 2012)

Hey all,
Sooo...
It turns out that today I'm 20! Another day, another year. Things have been doing well this week. Cebu was kapoy kaayo (sooo tiring!). We left at 5:45 that Thurs morning on the bus and got to Cebu at 12noon... 6hours jud! Then we had lunch at the temple complex before our training meeting at 1-3pm and then spent the rest of the afternoon at distribution getting things and finding out that the is no stock of a ton of things until next summer, ad then in the office chatting with tatay and the other elders in the office at the time.

I bought a quad which i am getting split and recovered-hardbound into 5 books. Old Testament, New Testament, BoM, D&C/PoGP, and then Reference... it will be a maroon red with gold lettering and will look absolutely amazing!
Thanks for everything in the box... most of it got hurot (all used up) today as we went up into the bukid (not to the dagat) for our p'day party thingo for transfers and my b'day. So I'm still in Zambo for another 6 weeks (cause each transfer is 6weeks... no more and no less) and finish training E. Padilla. He is just amazing and is slowly coming out of his shell and gaining confidence... We are right on track and are having lots of fun.

This past Mon we had another CSP... this time digging a pit for a compost at a school up in te bukid... they wanted it 8feet deep... we got about 4 feet done in the 2hrs we spent on it. Cause after we got through a foot of soil, it was ALL JUST CLAY!!! Sooo gahi! This week also we have decided we are going to more bold with our less actives each visit until they realise they are kulang jud in the gospel. The spirit has definitely helped us this week in the lessons and we have had some great experiences with that. One less active told us about their word of wisdom problem after the spirit told us not to share a scripture with them yet but keep talking to them about things... then the nanay just come out straight with her problem... the spirit is amazing!

Buts thats about all for this week that was exciting and fun... so this is your no longer teenager but now adult child saying,
Love you all
Miss you a ton... (especially your cherry ripe mud cake)
Elder Taylor Addison Cox



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Terri here: Taylor usually chooses a Cherry Ripe Mudcake to celebrate his birthday with. We'll just have to make it next year after he comes home!!