There is a God and He loves us

Mama

Wow I am so stoked for Evan [going to the prom with a cute date]. maybe the Tagg name will be passed down after all... 

So I think that it is time I let you in on a little somethinsomethin... 

Missions are hard... 

Despite my efforts to deny them, I must be real about my weaknesses. The fact of the matter is that I do a lot of comparing, numbers wise. This has not brought me happiness. I have really been trying to focus on people and not numbers. After the temple today I felt a lot happier. It was like I was being told that I should always be happy, and so I was.

One of the most profound truths most often taken for granted is the fact that there is a God, and even more than that, He loves each and every one of us. 

Elder Tagg

PS By the way I SAW ELDER M AT THE TEMPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They were visa waiters and  former companions in the Washington Everett mission

Holy Shoes

Mom

Why did you call me trix? (I said "how's trix?"  Not the same thing)  You seem very determined to come up with a nickname for me... It won't work. remember Grandpa Cruisers story?

I liked that poem. There is a stinky guy leaning over the computer next to me.

I am super excited to see Elder M here in a few days. I hope he comes to my zone. He was a transfer ahead of me when I served in the Washington Everett mission,  and he was actually my trainer for a while. Elder Merr Merr we would call him. He's so awesome!

So I have big ol holes in my shoes. Sometimes one of my toes gets stuck in one of the holes and I have to stop and fix it or my toe will be repeatedly stubbed  (if you look you can see one of my golden tipped sockies pokin' through)

Yikes!  Glad we sent him with 3 pairs of shoes!

This was my getup right before the Sunday sessions. I decided to 'High Priest' it (ask Dad what that means). You guys have probably already noticed, and YES I have gotten a lot fatter. But I'm losing weight again by working out and not eating. I came to a bit of a realization when I found myself at 85 kilos. I promised that I would never be that fat ever again in my life. That was about 3 weeks ago. Now I'm down to 80. So it's going well. But basically that's an update on my body. When I was in Washington I was in a companionship that was totally into working out and drinking protein shakes, and I was loosing a lot of fat and getting a lot stronger. Then when I came to Brazil I was in a totally different situation. Every day we walk up to over 30 kilometers, so by the end of the day you get SUPER tired. so it is super hard to work out in the morning. Also, the freaking Irmas (sisters) here are INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!! We only eat almoços (lunches... why he breaks into portuguese randomly here and there I have no idea) here, but we eat more in one hour than I would eat all day in the United States (and I ate a lot). But anyways these two things combined with the fact that my metabolism is getting lower, it just started happening. I call it Satan's trifecta. 

Gotta go

Love Elder Tagg

Dad,

Yes it truly was a special general conference was it not?

My faves were Uchdorf, Bednar, and Adukaitis.  They are so awesome. (especially Adukaitis) actually Elder Bednar and Elder Adukaitis both visited the Washington Everett mission not too long ago. "One should not walk through garbage".  Love Adukiaitis.

 I don't know if you caught it but John Sears Tanner (my mission president) was just called as the first counselor to the Sunday school presidency. We are getting a new president halfway through next transfer.

Love you Dad 

Elder Tagg

 

So Yeah/ Letter to Dad

Dear Mom,
So yeah the whole Dr pepper thang you referred to in your letter was really retarded. I just took the blame for drinking that to save the freaking family trip from your wrath.

But anyways,

I am still with Elder T 

Elder Blake is still gone!!!!!!!!!

My brother in the mission (Elder M)* is in the Sao Paulo MTC re learning Portuguese!

I lost 2 kilograms this week! Woot!

So yesterday we went on some splits with the members and visited natives (in actives). I went with our LMA (ward mission leader) and it was raining way hard so it was difficult, but we did find one guy named C. Dos Santos. He was baptized after his little brother but then his brother died and he stopped coming. He was super sad. Here in Brazil whenever a guy has the last name Dos Santos or Do Espirito Santo or De Jesus, It means that they didn't know who their father was. Just FYI. 

We just got the ward on board for a super crazy referrals experiment that Guilherme (our LMA) and I came up with. If all goes well we will get almost 600 referrals in the next 3 weeks, and if that happens Planalto will be split in half like immediately. But one way or another if all goes right we are going to get a TON of new investigators, which means a TON of baptisms, which means a TON of eternal families. So if you want families to be eternal I suggest you all do some praying kay???

I love it when all my evil plans work.

Elder Tagg 

*Elder M was with him in the MTC and also in his first area where he waited for his visa.

Hey Daddy-O

This is your son here - I hope you are doing well.

I'm doing awesome here in Brazil. 

Ok mission story-

The other night Elder T and I were walking home with a recent convert and we were in Parque Dos Pastros (thats the rich area. There are really high walls and electrical fences). But anyways we walked around the corner and we saw a freaking cachorro (dog) and when it saw us it got spooked and started jumping/climbing/worming its way over this 8 foot wall! 

Thas' all bye

Elder Tagg

Actually I do miss... A lot

Queridíssima Mamãe (Dearest Mom)

So this week I decided to take the challenge in *Ether 12:27. Yeah so it works, turns out the scriptures are right.

 There is a saying that there are two things you should never pray for, patience and humility. So I prayed for patience, and would you guess what happened? I got exactly what I didn't want this transfer... Nothing. I am staying with Elder T, I am staying junior companion. Sigh. So.... patience 'check!'. 

Humility has been something I have been working on a lot lately.  The more I learn the more I realize how weak I really am. Something I have learned is just how to put everything in the hands of the Lord. I was really getting down on myself because being humbled really sucks... then I started reading the scriptures.  In third Nephi where Jesus prays for the children and then cries for the children. I realized that eternally speaking {we} I am really just a child... I need to be more patient with myself. I am not perfect. However because of the atonement I have the ability to become perfect. I think a large part of life is understanding this.

So all my super solid investigators just got baptized. but we are moving forward still, some people like to compare missionary work to being on an elevator, where you just load on as many people as you can and try to get them all to the top and have a baptism explosion.  Then you have to go back for more. but really it is better to work like an escalator. Missionary work has to flow, and its always better to have fatter escalators. Fatter.

Me and my LMA (ward mission leader, in Portuguese) are really pulling for the support of the ward and we have been recieving a TON of good potential referrals from members. I love this ward so freaking much. But anyways this coming week Elder T and I will be working really hard to contact them all and to get them progressing. if tudo da certo a gente vai ter batismos pra carumba. (translation: if everything works out we'll have ?carumba? baptisms).

Love you mom atê! (until)

Elder Tagg

*Either 12:27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

I DON'T MISS

Moma

Hi. So do you really think that I would just forget to write you (insert question mark here this keyboard sucks) Fica calma, mulher nao te deixarei. (translation: stay calm, [I] do not leave you woman... this may not be entirely correct, I'm relying on google translate)

So the lan house lost power and P-day is over now so we just got permission to finish emailing.

But super fast, here are the photos that didn't go through. I hope that you get them this time... actually never mind this other lan house sucks big time.

But my week has been great I'm going to baptize another person this next Sunday if all goes well, which it will because I'm Elder Tagg and I DON'T MISS

(Please don't scold me for my moment of pride).

Yesterday I ate pe de boi, which is really just the Achilles tendon of an ox. It is comida super forte (translation: super strong food). It has a ton of nutrients but it's hard to digest. (Or so the Brazilians say).

Today Elder Bl and Elder T and Elder Be and I all went to 25 de março and I bought a Corinthians jersey. (That's my football (soccer) team here in Brasil). It was totally fake but whater. Also I saw a huge diesel watch (also fake but still high quality.) Imma buyu one one day.

But I don't have anymore time to talk about my investigators or anything, so tchao! the amo (bye! Love you)

Elder Tagg

P.S. Tell Dad that I'm sorry for not writing him a letter again this week. Tell him he can handle it better than Mom :P

The Best Missionary I Can Be

Dear Mom,

So this week has been great but lately I have been getting down on myself for a lot of things. My new companion Elder T and I have been struggling with a few things lately... I just feel like I may be getting a little too used to being a missionary. It's hard, I don't want to loose my 'greeny' fire. We haven't been breaking any rules. Missionary work is just tough. Sometimes it can be easy to cut corners. But as I thought about it, I came to a decision that I will never let myself be an average missionary. My zone leader Elder D is going home in two weeks and he bore his testimony in zone meeting about obedience. (Brazilian missions struggle with exactness in obedience).  He said that his Dad told him before his mission that you will not know how to be a missionary until you are on the airplane coming home. That really hit me hard. one day soon I will be on that plane, looking back on what I have just done.  What will I regret?  It will be then that I will truly know. I need to do better. I am a missionary for Jesus Christ's church, dangit!  My authority is above that of the kings of the earth. I have a testimony of this Gospel! I have a responsibility to do the very best I can possibly do and to improve theron. There is a talk called 'the Fourth Missionary', it talks about the different kinds of missionaries. I'm not going to stop improving, mamãe. eu vou ser o melhor missionario eu posso ser. (translation: Mom, I'll be the best missionary I can be).

So I'll end this email on a good note. The other day I was teaching a lession and there is this funny old member present who is inactive because she has to stay home and take care of her Mom who is bedridden. After the lesson she just up and started to shine my shoes!  It was so random. I hadn't shined my shoes in a while and it has been raining a ton this past week so my shoes WERE a little sad looking. But not anymore! Haha Brazillians are so funny.

Love Elder Tagg

Elder Tagg (drawn by a ward member)

nice socks Elder!

Photos!

Hi Mom,
I don't have so much time today to write you, but I am doing great! We are lining up a bunch of people for baptism... Elder T and I get along great! We have a baptism lined up for Saturday, so I will be sure to send you pictures. Life in Planalto is good. I get to talk to Elder Bl a lot which is amazing.

So this Sunday we got this inactive guy to church and we gave him the priesthood because he is going to baptize his wife!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whudup!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

There is a stupid dog outside who is just barking at everybody.

So here in Brasil we have to go to lan houses to email. We pay by the hour for our computer time.

I don't have any more stories this week buuuuuuuut............

 I have a bunch of photos!

Sandwich TIE!

                            

                               Love Elder Tagg