Letter for Eagle Cliff Ward

Sorry its a bit late, but here you have it!

My name is Elder Lukas Taylor and I am currently serving in the Nicaragua Managua North Mission. I have just about 18 months here to be on the mission. And I am having a great time!

I have had many great experiences so far on my mission. I have been through alot of heat. (RIght now is summer here and its around 100° every day now) And I have also been through alot of rain, mud, and chased and bit by a few dogs. But everything is really awesome for me!

I would like to share an experience that has helped me a lot in the mission so far. I was in an area called Jalapa. This area is about 30 minutes away from Honduras. This area was smaller than a branch. When I got there in December of 2016 this area had less than a year of having missionaries. When I got there, the area was very very new. There were only 10 members in the whole area. And of those 10 only 5 were active. And so there was a lot of work to be done.

My companion and I went out trying our best to get new people to go to church. We worked all day contacting new people, and working with the 10 members in the area. It was actually really hard work. But the thing that was really cool for me was when we showed up to a majority of the people, they always let us into their homes and listened to our message. Many times these people had never even heard of the church. Not even the name "Mormons." With time we had 1 baptism in the area. And when Janurary came around, we still only had 10 to 15 people at church.

In January of this year, we had transfers and I got a new Companion. His name was Elder Alvarez. He and I worked well together and we could really get to know our investigators and all the people there alot better. When Februrary rolled around we started seeing the miricals and the fruits of our labors. We were able to baptize 10 people in that month. And the other companionship in this area as well could baptize 6 as well. 

But the best part was, that all of these people we were helping, all got testimonies of the church and stayed faithful. By the end of Februrary we got the assistance from 10 to 37 people, and we could feel the joy of the work. We can still see our fruits growing as this area is close to being a branch now. And we hope that Jalapa can keep on growing.

The Nicaraguan people area very humble and really willing to follow the Lord and do what is asked of them. That is a great trait that I have learned from them.

I know that this church is true and that if we choose the right we will be blessed. And I also know that the Book Of Mormon is the word of God and was Translated by Joseph Smith. I am greatful to be a missionary and know that every effort is worth it. Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy the snow for me!

In the Name of Jesus Christ...

-Elder Taylor