Last Week in the MTC

 

LAST WEEK in the MTC 

 Goofing off with the Elders 

Well, Taylor sent a couple short notes to Laura and I today as well as some personal letters to a few of you who have been writing directly to him. We'll post some of those excerpts here:

 

Taylor said they get a little extra time in the MTC to write, so he's enjoyed being in touch with so many friends and family.  He also said "I don't spend more than an hour and a half cause me and my comp love to play ping pong and Frisbee etc. I love it here. I'm learning so much and trying to make God and the family proud."

He asked us to post on Twitter and Instagram for him as well, so if you're on there we'll keep it updated at his request.  "I appreciate that Mom's keeping all my friends updated. Thank you so much. You guys are awesome. I'm sure you know that packages and letters from home are the best thing out here. I love hearing from you guys and I'm sure I'm going to love getting little things here and there from you guys during my mission." 

 

He's getting ready to leave the MTC and head to the field, saying "I'm kinda living out of my suitcase - I packed up early cause I didn't want to be scrambling at the very end...." 

 

We had told him about his Grandma and Grandpa Brown who have submitted papers to serve a mission and have decided to serve a full 18 months if needed: 
  "I heard about their upcoming mission call. That's awesome that they're going out for 18 months! That's a long time but they'll love it. They're such great examples to me. I also heard about Jessyca and Summer's call.  Tell them I said "congrats".  They really will be awesome. I pray for you guys every day also."

 

His mom told him that we miss the sound of his guitar and singing in the home.  He responded: "Tell me about it! I'm having guitar withdrawls which leads me to playing the piano. I really wish I would've taken more lessons and just played the piano more often. But it's all good. Things here are awesome. I'm healthy. Tell all the boys to please email me separately! I'd love to hear from them about how things are going. If my English starts getting bad just know I'm speaking a TON of spanish hahaha. HAPPY HALLOWEEN."

 

 "Called To Serve" - Taylor and his companion going to the Temple

He also shared:   "I miss you guys a ton and I pray for you guys every night. I'm glad to hear that you guys are doing well. Halloween is an awesome time, one of my favorite holidays by far. And they don't celebrate it here. Which is an absolute bummer. But anyways, we're probably gonna do something for it here at the MTC cause we all bought candy and we're thinking about dressing up and going trick or treating around the MTC haha. But yeah, we went on splits last Friday. I thought some of the things I had done were humbling before. Going to the university, the store, etc etc. But going on splits was a whole different ball game. Poverty everywhere. Dogs dying in the streets. The homes were sometimes as little as some weak stone walls with a tin roof. It was super humbling to see. It was almost like the scene in James Bond where he looks out and sees all those shanty houses. It was almost exactly the same.

 

The driving is absolutely insane too. No rules. Basically the way you find out if you're a good driver here is if you don't get into an accident haha. We had to take these buses called "Gua wahs" and it was nuts!!  They just pile as many people as they can at a time into a bus and weave through cars, almost hitting people here and there and the whole time you're just on edge ready for anything. But anyways, I had a native comp that spoke no English 'cause I'm lucky enough to have some Spanish experience before I came here, so I'm progressing well. His name was Elder Camacho. Stellar guy. All our appointments that day ended up falling through. So we went to some less actives' homes and taught some lessons and mainly just talked with them. I can't believe how much I actually understood. It was crazy. The gift of tongues is so real. I know in my heart if it was just me out here, I wouldn't be anywhere close in Spanish to where I am now. But "Domincan Spanish" is a whole different ball game hahahah. They talk so fast it's gonna be hard to get adjusted for the first bit.

 

But anyways, things here are awesome. I'm losing some weight cause all we eat is beans, rice and some really bad meat. But it's awesome. I'm loving it."

 

Then he said to the youth who would read his letters:

"If you're hearing this or reading this; serve a mission!  It's the best choice you could ever make in your entire life. It changes you. You'll become a better man.  I mean, I've only been out here for 5 weeks in a place that could easily be Utah until you go outside the gates. But please pray for the missionaries around the world. I love you guys and can't wait to see you all again."

 

Taylor's MTC District

He closed by saying:

"I miss you all so much. I leave early Tuesday morning. I'll let you guys know. You are all in my prayers individually throughout the day every day. Please tell Aaron to email me seperately as well as the rest of the boys. I really want to talk to them personally. 

With all of my love,        Elder J. Taylor Graff"

Week 4 MTC

Well, tomorrow marks one month since I left home. It's crazy how far I've come in such a short time. I've progressed so fast in the Gospel and the language so far and I know not even 10 percent is from me. I'm working hard sure, but as I'm working and striving to be the best missionary I can be, the Lord is blessing me so much.

 Making friends in the mission

         Things here are so awesome. The older missionaries left three days ago to Santiago and Puerto Rico which was so sad ‘cause I was good friends with all of them and I'll miss them so much. But it's bittersweet because I know how good they're going to be out in the field. They were all studs in their own ways. That's another thing I've learned out here is that everyone is special in their own way. Not everyone is a great public speaker. Not everyone is a great athlete. And not everyone is blessed in the social aspect of their lives but they carry different gifts that can bless people in ways other people cannot. Like an elder here that is in my room. He's not sociable at all and really struggles making friends. But in class, whenever he bears his testimony the whole room is silent. Everyone is transfixed because of the powerful spirit he carries with himself everywhere he goes.

          But anyways, another thing that has happened since last week – my companion and I got called as the new APs of the MTC which is awesome. Being AP really keeps me in line and helps me stay in the boundaries of obedience I want to be in because I have to be an example.  Really it just gives me the opportunity to love and serve everyone and practice my Spanish ‘cause I definitely need it. The MTC is a way different place than out in the field. Here, I'm so confident in my language and I can say the things I need to say and understand everyone. But whenever we go tracting at the MTC or to the tienda, it's so hard to understand what the Dominicans are saying if you aren't absolutely zoned in. You zone out for one second and you won't catch a thing they say they talk so fast. But it's awesome.

 

Taylor and his companion in the MTC

Speaking of the University, my comp and I had an awesome experience last Friday. At first, no one wanted to hear what we had to say at the University so we were getting really discouraged. It's hard when people don't want to talk to you when you know you have a message that can bless their lives. But we prayed for strength and help in finding the people that we needed to find. Soon enough, we met these two girls named Ana and Melissa. They were sitting down on a bench talking and eating and we just came up and said hi. They kinda’ blew us off at first and were just giving one word answers to our questions but we just stayed positive and kept talking. They soon became interested in what we had to say and when we started talking about the Book of Mormon and the Gospel they were silent. We testified of the truthfulness of this church and taught them a little about the Restoration, answered their questions, etc. (This was all in Spanish, btw, which was a huge confidence boost regarding the language). But they ended up at the end of the time we were with them wanting to know more. So we got their numbers down as references and gave them to the MTC and they're calling them to set up a time with the missionaries if they want.

          Another experience at the university was at the very end. We've been using some slang we've learned here that's still appropriate to use as a missionary to connect with people and get them interested because they love when you embrace their culture and they'll be more receptive. So at the very end of our time, we saw this group of four kids our age walking and they said hi in English. So we were stoked ‘cause we hardly ever hear English out in the field. So I complimented them on their English and that started it all. They wanted to talk in English but I told them we needed all the practice we could get ‘cause we're gringos obviously and they got a kick out of that. So they started talking super-fast and my companion and I at the same time said "Bajale algo" which is slang for slow down and they died laughing. They thought we were awesome because we could speak "Dominican Spanish" but it turns out that they are studying at the university and so we asked them a lot of questions about what they were studying and really got to know them instead of just sharing the gospel right away as if we were trying to sell something to them. That's one thing I've learned also. You really got to love the people and care about them instead of just wanting to share the gospel as good as the message is. But if you get to know them and show you care first, they'll be much more receptive to the message you have to share. But soon enough, we started talking about the gospel and turns out they were Evangelists. So we asked them about their beliefs and they believed in a lot of things we believed in. Repentance, faith, baptism, the Godhead, etc. So we just built off what they already believed and they were super receptive to it and interested because we weren't bashing their beliefs, just expounding on them and adding onto their testimony of the God. So we talked about the Restoration a little bit and the Book of Mormon especially. They loved it. They were really open to our church and especially when we shared our testimony. When I bore my testimony about the Book of Mormon and the reason I was out here, the feeling I got was indescribable. My soul burned and I just knew, like I always do whenever I share my testimony about the church, especially the Book of Mormon and the Restoration, that this church is true. I know it is with all of my being. But anyways, they gave us their numbers and we called them with one of the teachers in the MTC and Samuel gave us his address. The missionaries in the East are going to give him the lessons!!!!! We were stoked!

            But yeah, that's a lot of what happened this week. A lot of the same stuff here though in the MTC. There's not a lot of change here just a lot of Spanish and gospel classes but I'm loving it. The mission has already changed my life. It really is a call ordained of God. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else and if you're thinking about serving a mission, do it. I love you guys with all my heart. Just know I'm doing good and life is going great.

Te amo,

Elder J. Taylor Graff

Week 3 - MTC

Week 3 MTC Dominican Republic:

So this week has been so awesome. I've had so many cool experiences this week and I'm gonna try and share all of them with you guys but it'll be hard because we have limited time. We're way overbooked here at the MTC. We have nine districts here when we're only supposed to have 6. A lot of natives but they are way nice and humble. I'm making tons of friends here and the older group is leaving in 6 days which will be rough cause I love them all so much. But they'll do awesome in the field.

      First off, we went contacting at a university last Friday. It was the coolest experience of the week. Walking there was such an experience. The atmosphere is absolutely nuts here. It's way different than the US. But everyone here is SO friendly. Even if they don't have a lot of time, all you have to do is say hi to some people and they spark a conversation. But anyways, at the university, Elder Hansen and I talked to as many people as we could possibly talk to. We had about 5 BOMs to handout and a couple pamphlets on the restoration. We gave out 4 of the 5 BOMs and all the pamphlets. But we weren't just looking to give out pamphlets and BOMs. We wanted life changing experiences and we wanted our experiences with people to mean something other than "Here's a book and a pamphlet". One of our coolest experiences was with a woman named Violeta. We were walking past here and I felt prompted to say hi. So that's all I did. She said hi back and we kept walking but we took no more than 5 steps when she called out to us from behind. We turned around and she came running up asking us if we were missionaries. We said yes and she went on to explain that she had ran into some missionaries over the summer on her vacation to utah, She talked with them for a while but they didn't have a BOM and she left Utah before they got her one. So we gave her a BOM and she was so joyful. We both testified of the truthfulness of the book and I said that I know it's true because I have read it and prayed about it. When I said that, the Spirit hit me like a train. I almost teared up because it was so strong. Even though there were noises all around us, they almost drowned out. It was so peaceful, the language was flowing well, and I KNOW the Spirit was there to touch her heart. We then explained and answered some questions she had and then invited her to read it over the week and gave her the number to some missionaries in her area. I know she'll read it I just know and I've been praying for her every single day this week. We had so many other cool experiences at the University but I don't have more time to write about it because I only have about 10 more minutes to write. But anyways it was sweet.

 

        On Tuesday, we had a live devotional from Elder Zivic, a member of the First Quorum of the Presidency of the Seventy. He testified so strongly of the Book of Mormon, the power of this gospel, and how you can affect anyone with the Spirit. It was the best live talk I've ever heard in my life. We also heard another devotional by Holland on Sunday. I think it happened about 3 months ago in the Utah MTC but we had the broadcast. Holland is always such a great speaker but he had so much fire when he was talking. He basically told us that "We aren't here to not work. We aren't here to go home early. We're here to work hard, love the people, and serve God."

 

         The language is going well. We went contacting at a park yesterday and handed out some Book of Mormons to people that we felt inspired to talk to. We talked to this one lady with a name I can't remember it was so long. But we talked for about 30 minutes about everything. She told us she was from the Pentacost church and that she didn't really want to hear our message. But instead of just saying ok and walking away, we asked her about her church and why she was apart of it. She said that her whole family had always been apart of it. She said it was just a family tradition basically. And so we asked a couple more questions and sparked her interest. We started really talking and she started talking so fast I was having a hard time understanding. But she slowed down and we started talking about the Book of Mormon. We read out of Moroni 10:3-5 and told her that if she wanted to know for herself, she has to read the book and pray with a sincere heart to know that it's true. Our Spanish wasn't the best but she understood and I think it was more powerful because we had the Spirit with us than it would've been if we were fluent and didn't have the spirit. But we testified and gave it to her. And about 25 minutes later, we walked past where she was sitting and she was still there reading. Just completely focused on the book. She was just taking a short break from working out at the park when we talked to her and she had just completely stopped her workout and started reading. I thought that was so cool.

          But yeah, things here are so sweet. I'm getting pretty tan. A lot of the teachers think I look like I'm from Brazil haha! But I'm still 1000% Gringo. I'm trying to stay humble and I'm working as hard as I possibly can every day. I loved hearing in Dad's email about you guys. Aaron, keep up the good work in volleyball and make the most of it. Cause when it's gone it's gone. Leave it all out on the court. And Joseph, you're gonna' do GREAT at football. I can just see you now, 7 years from now as a huge defensive end that every quarterback fears. And Ethan, keep working out hard man. I saw in the pictures Kathy sent me how big you're getting and I'm impressed. I'm a solid 185 now haha - I've already lost almost 10 pounds. So I'm trying to eat more. The pictures from the lake outing made me miss you guys a lot. But I feel bad cause I honestly haven't been missing you guys that much. I mean I have but I'm working hard so God is blessing me with my homesickness and I'm absolutely loving it here. Say hi to everyone back at home. I love and miss you all so much. I wish I could just travel to Arizona for a day spend some time with you guys and then come back out the next day but it doesn't work that way. And dad, next family scripture study, please read to the boys D&C Section 122. It's such a great section and will make you feel like any little problems you guys are having are nothing. Cause the Savior has felt it all. The Savior knows exactly how every single person in the world is feeling right now. It's hard to comprehend, but it's true. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for this church. And I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the people here. I wouldn't want to be ANYWHERE else. The month mark is coming up in 8 days which is psycho. I'll be home before you know it. Love you all.

Love you all with all my heart,

Elder J. Taylor Graff

Week 2 - MTC

Week 2 MTC Dominican Republic:

Hola mi familia!!!!

       Hey guys. So this week in the MTC was amazing. General conference last weekend was so spiritually filled with gold. I loved every single second of it. I hope you guys loved it too. You really don't appreciate General Conference until you're a missionary. I especially liked President Monson's talk about the huge warship that was undefeatable until one lucky torpedo hit its rudder and completely immobilized it. I really related that to life and how we may think that we're unstoppable and that we have life and our temptations all under control until one thing gets us and then we're immobile stuck in the grasp of sin. It's almost like that story in the scriptures where the people were so confident that their enemies wouldn't attack the heart of the city they didn't protect it and they got over ran. But anyways, General Conference was the best.

        On another note, my Spanish is going so well. Way better than I thought it would be going. I pray daily for the gift of tongues. I just noticed this but I don't know if my first email went through to you guys. I hope it did but I tried to send a bunch of pictures and I hope that didn't stall the email and not let it send. If it didn't let me know and I'll try and catch you guys up. 

       The teachers here are so awesome and they're helping me progress way fast. I can already teach lessons pretty well and hold conversations here but when we went to the store, the people there talked so fast I couldn't hardly pick up a word. I just had to keep saying "Mas despacio" which means SLOW DOWN  - haha. That's definitely a phrase I always have in my back pocket. Teaching is getting way easier though. We now have two fake investigators which is just teachers that dress up in like "hood" clothes or clothes Dominicans would wear and then they act like their investigators. But now instead of having 40 min, we only have about 30. And it's hard to fit everything we want to teach about and say into that short of time. I never would've thought I would say that but it's true.

 

       Some things that have happened to me this week are:

1. We went to the store on Tuesday. The store was absolutely nuts. It was like a Wal Mart during the apocalypse! There was no organization to anything. The liquor was by the licorice and baby products that's how disorganized it was hahahah. And getting used to this whole peso thing is difficult cause I'm not used to spending 500 dollars at the store which is only about 11 bucks back home. But walking there was crazy. The whole atmosphere of the Dominican is way different. I had a way humbling experience too when I got there. Some kid approached me that was about 7 years old. He was skin and bones with a shaved head and he was begging for 30 pesos which isn't even a dollar so he could have something to eat. The look in his eyes pierced my soul. He looked so sad and desperate. But I couldn't give him money. You can't as a missionary. So instead, I just talked with him for a bit before we went in. His name was Mishal or something like that I don't know he talked fast. But he was homeless with no parents or anything to his name. But I basically told him God loves him and that everything is going to work out. That's all I really could do.

2. I cut my companion Elder Hansen's hair with an electric shaving razor! So we all got a Dominican haircut last Pday and his was kind of bad. So he had me fix the back with his electric razor. Our whole district was there and I marked out where I was going to cut with a pen and everyone joked that it was my "first surgery" cause they know I'm thinking about being a doctor hahaha.

3. The Haiitians from the CCM left. This was probably the hardest experience for me to deal with. I got so close to the elders from Haiti when they were here. They were all my closest friends. Even though I didn't speak French, one of them spoke a little bit of Spanish. So he translated everything I had to say. But basically, the night they were leaving we all sang "God be with you till we meet again" in Spanish. Let me tell you something. That was probably the most powerful hymn I've ever sang in my whole life. The Spirit was so strong. Ridiculously strong and the emotions in the room were powerful. The Haitians were some of the most humble individuals I've ever met and they each had such a strong testimony of the Savior. I cried when we were saying goodbye to them cause I got especially close with Elder Floresteal. It's just crazy that I'm probably never gonna see any of them the rest of my life.

Taylor and the other Elders doing their best "Tim Tebow" outside the Santo Domingo Temple

I've had a lot more experiences but I just don't have enough time to write them all. I love you all so much. Joseph, I miss and love you man. Ethan, I hope school is going well and that junior high is treating you well. Aaron, love you man. Make good decisions and be an example to everyone at all times. Be a light on a hill. Mom and dad, I miss you more than anything. Thank you for raising me in a household where I was able to learn and progress and learn how to work. Cause a mission is not easy at all. But it's worth it. I'll write more next week. But one last thing. I found a scripture thanks to my companion Elder Hansen this week in Ether 12:27. It's a great one. By the way, thank you for that sweet letter dad. It got hand delivered by that one lady that knows mom I forgot her name but yeah. And Garry Flake told me to tell Grandma Graff he said hi. I went to the temple today cause I was feeling better and I met him. He apparently knew Grandpa Graff and served with him somewhere on his mission. The TEMPLE HERE IS SOO COOL though. Better than in America hahahaha even though the Gilbert temple is hard to beat. But it's awesome that wherever you go, whatever language it's in, the same ordinances are still done in that sacred house of the Lord. I love the mission. And I miss you all. But this is where I need to be.

Hasta luego, te amo mucho,

Elder Graff 

 

 

Week 1 - MTC

Week 1 - MTC Dominican Republic:

Dear family,

 

Que pasa calabasas? So I don't know how to start this letter because I have so much to tell you guys. So much. It's crazy how much has already happened in one week and how fast it has all flown by.

      The plane flights were long and boring because the people sitting next to me didn't want to talk too much. So I slept for most of my flight. But meeting all the missionaries in Florida was so comforting. I thought I was gonna be flying solo not knowing a word of REAL spanish and then possibly get in the wrong taxi and get taken out to the middle of nowhere and all my stuff ripped off so having all of the other elders and sisters with me was awesome.

        When we landed in the DR, we had to hop off the plane and go get our luggage first. At first I couldn't find mine so I thought I was gonna be surviving off two white shirts and two pairs of pants for a week but I finally found it. The atmosphere in the airport was insane. It's not like an American airport at all. We had to go through customs and everything and the lady at the front desk thought I spoke fluent spanish cause of my accent so I had to tell her to slow down like three times cause she didn't speak a word of English. I said I was a gringo and then she understood hahahaha.

          After customs and everything we walked outside and that's when it hit me that I was actually doing this. I was actually going to be serving the Lord for two years in a country I knew little about, in a language I don't know with just a ton of variables. Cars driving wherever they wanted to. People talking so fast in Spanish it sounds like another language, and just the smells were so different. Then, as we were walking outside, the guy that was supposed to drive us to the CCM (MTC) waved us down. We all loaded our luggage into like this old school hippie bus van with curtains and a little cart attached to the back and then took so many pictures before we left.  

 

         Driving to the MTC was hands down the sketchiest experience I've ever had in my entire life. The driving is absolutely nuts. There were some guys driving on dirtbikes and quads in the middle of the road weaving through all the cars and popping wheelies for like 2 minutes going 65 on the freeway. It was absolutely unimagineable. We drove through some super rough parts of town too. It was so humbling to see some of the conditions that people lived in down here. Some people just slept on cardboard on the side of the freeway. I distincly remember when we were about 5 minutes away from the MTC, seeing about 5 families all living in a space smaller than the majority of houses in America, in the open street, with four poles stuck into the ground and a camping tarp for a roof. It was so humbling. When I saw that, I realized that I'm so blessed. So blessed to have you guys as my family and for the love and care you guys showed me and for the things you all taught me.

          That night it was really, really hard to sleep. I went to bed around two and got up at 6:30 the next morning. I was just thinking all about home and how different things are going to be when I get back. Joseph is gonna be eleven years old, Ethan is going to be DRIVING, and Aaron is going to either be on a mission or in college. I miss you guys a ton. But to be honest, besides the first night, I haven't really been missing you guys. I have, but I just haven't been focusing on it. I've been working really hard, trying to be as obedient as I can, but not being a "Missionary robot". I joke around with everybody here but when it's time to work, I work. I'm so grateful for that principle that you taught me Mom and Dad. I can never thank you enough for that because some people here really dont work hard at all.

           

 

 

Taylor with Elder Bruno from Grenada (6'7")--They play basketball together during gym time

 

     The classes are amazing here. We really have in my opinion the best teachers out of any MTC in the world. I mean, that's probably what every missionary says but it's so true. They're all so funny and just great teachers. They bring the Spirit so well and I just love everything about it. I'm learning SO fast it's insane. Three years of high school Spanish taught me 1/5 of what I've learned here in one week. I can already bear my testimony and pray strongly and my companion and I teach 45 minute lessons completely in Spanish almost every single day. I'm district leader too which is an awesome experience. I get to serve everyone, love everyone, and just give of my time to help others. I'm so grateful for all my leaders that taught me lessons in leadership and how to really take others under my wing cause that's what I've had to do a little bit; please tell Brother Denham and all my other leaders thank you for that. It's awesome though, cause it makes me feel more Christ like. I mean, Christ is taking me completely under my wing right now. I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am now without his help. The gift of tongues is real. I testify of it. If you work hard on your mission and completely devote yourself to the Lord, all things are possible. (1 Nephi 3:7).

          Classes are way challenging though. Apparently, my district has some of the hardest teachers here in the MTC. They speak pretty fast hahahah and sometimes my brain hurts and I tell myself how in the world am I gonna speaking 100x faster than this in 6 months when I'm out in el campo (the field), but a scripture I've come to love while I've been down here this week is Helaman 12:3, which is about how we need challenges in order to remember God.

    

 

Doing the "Usain Boldt" with one of the Jamaican Elders from the Jamaica district

 

Elder Zamora at the MTC

       The food down here is way good. The bread is amazing, the avocados are gigantic and so delicious and the fruit is almost like it fell from heaven. We have beans and rice EVERY single day without fail with some sort of "mystery meat" I swear some of it is probably cat and dog but it tastes just like chicken hahahahah. Elder Tibbits found out he has worms yesterday though so all of us are kind of on edge about the food. The people that work in the cafeteria though are so humble and nice though. It really makes me appreciate this country and love the people.

           Today, everyone went to the temple besides me, Elder Bruno, and Elder Millward. We are all kinda sick with a cold so President Freestone didn't want us getting the workers sick so we stayed here and just studied and watched a Provo MTC devotional. I understand where he's coming from but I wanted to go so bad. The temple here is breathtaking. It's this really cool tanish Aztec looking stone and has palm trees surrounding it with super short almost golf grass. Everything here is so beautiful. The nightly prayers here and singing in Spanish is so filled with the Spirit also.

             I don't have much more time so I'm just gonna say a couple last things before I gotta go and I'll save the rest for next week. I'm also gonna try and upload some pictures but I don't have an aux cord for my camera so hopefully they can upload. I miss you guys. I love every one of you so much and you are in my prayers multiple times every single day. I miss America but I know this is where I need to be. I'm growing spiritually, maturing, and loving it every single day. I love each and every second of it. MOM PLEASE SEND MY RETAINERS in a letter or something I think I forgot them. Send me letters all of you please. I'll have a lot more time writing. Love you all.

 

Te amo,

 

Elder Graff

 

ARRIVAL at MTC -- Dominican Republic

 

 

 

ARRIVAL MTC Dominican Republic:

Upon arrival, Taylor sent a brief message:

"Hey Mom it's Elder Graff. I'm here safely at the CCM. I'm absolutely loving it so far. It's so sweet. My Pday is Thursday so I'll email you guys next Thursday. The atmosphere here is so cool. Don't have a lot of time. Gotta go. Love you so much Mom. Say hi to the family. You guys will be in my prayers.

Te amo mucho,

Elder Graff"

Taylor with his new MTC district and the MTC Mission President: