3 WARDS!

We picked up two new English wards this week, because another Elder had to go home (health reasons). English church is very different from Spanish church. We have a lot of work to do. We were already really busy! We don't even have time to track because we are always at appointments. Some people we are working with are awesome.

Things are even better with the comps as we start to figure out how we like to teach and stuff. Having three wards is ridiculous. We have more work than feasibly possible. I can't describe in a letter what  all needs to be done. But, I really do prefer to be busy.

P-day today looked like this... We went to the store, now we are emailing, watching Book of Mormon movies and playing basketball @ the church.


Tuesday we get to have dinner with Bishop Sam's bro. I hear his wife is a awesome cook!

Bishop Smith's Brother, Bro Smith:)

Not just in Africa

Hey miss you all.
This week was not my favorite, but it wasn't awful. So for my second Sunday in a Spanish ward, I was asked to speak right before church started.  I really stumbled through reading a 5 minute scripture in Spanish and bore my testimony. My Spanish gets better every week.

We were at a fiesta/dinner appointment last night for a family that just got baptized and is leaving to Mexico for like two months. This family is so funny! They are like Mexican Hippies. One of them always says "Amor y Paz" it's so funny. But anyways before we ate dinner
(freaking awesome tómales) we were doing a lesson on the Book of
Mormon, and just like Justin talks about in Africa this woman just
starts breast feeding her child right in front of me. No one else but
me thought anything of it. I figured I would be safe from that kind of
stuff in The U.S but apparently no one is safe. 

We have a lot of progressing investigators and we pick up new
investigators/referrals everyday. The biggest problem with like half
our investigators is that they have a family with kids but they aren't
married. Like the kids all want to be baptized and so do the parents
but they just don't want to get married. It can be really difficult to
tell people that fight all the time and have relationship problems, that the answer is spending eternity together! Overall the mission is great and only getting better. 

Love and miss you all,

MADE MY BED FOR MOM

This is my zone. We had an awesome zone meeting. We played human Foosball, my companion kicked the ball right into the AP's face, now he has to wear an eye patch.

MADE IT TO THE PROMISE LAND

Mission life is cool. And definitely more fun than I thought it would be. I am actually in a threesome (lol). My one companion is Elder Gay, he was a lifeguard from Springville. My other companion is Elder El-Bakri, he is a BYU football player and recently broke his arm in a bicycle accident. We have a car.

Not gonna lie our apartment is in the ghetto and is falling apart. I cleaned it a bunch when I got here. It helps us relate to the people though because we live in the same place or worse than them.


My companions are both really good at contacting. We just started doing this thing where we knock doors asking people if we can give them a quick three question survey about families. After they answer the questions, we tell them that we have to keep doing surveys but we would love to come back at a more convenient time and tell them what we believe about families. People are super receptive and literally 90% of people say we can come back for return appointments... Anyways, all our return appointments are next week so I'll keep y'all updated.

This week for lunch one day we went to a Mexican pizza place that happened to accept Pesos because we are so close to the border. I have a bunch of left over Pesos in my wallet left over from our recent trip to Mexico. The pizza was nothing special, but I still have quite a few Pesos so we will probably make it a weekly tradition.

I am excited to get more adjusted to mission life. My Spanish is progressing, it can be hard because only like half my lessons are in Spanish. I can't usually understand white people and little kids because they slur their words or have thick accents. There is a lot of work to be done here and I am happy to be apart of it.

Elder Gay and Elder El-Bakri

Elder Boren fellow LAX Bro from Meridian

Dear Brother and Sister Pattee,

We are grateful to have your son, Elder Trevor Pattee , serving with us in the Texas Dallas Mission.  He arrived safely and I have enjoyed interviewing him.  He has been assigned to serve in Dallas, Texas area  his address is 555 W. Dickey Rd. Apt. L, Grand Prairie, Texas 75051, his companion is Elder Bracken Lee El-Bakri of Salt Lake City, UT. We have given him a strong trainer to help him get off to a good start.  He seems happy and anxious to do the work of the Lord.  We will meet with Him regularly in Zone Conferences and personal interviews.

Our mission covers the northeast part of the State of Texas.  It takes in a little portion of Oklahoma and goes east to the Louisiana border.  Nearly three fourths of our missionaries are in the “Metroplex” of Dallas serving a population of almost four million people.  The life of a missionary is not always easy, but it will be a growing experience for him, one that will set him on a firm foundation and help him gain habits that will serve him well for life.

Sister Taylor and I are committed to do all that we can to assure a happy and successful mission for your son.  We are confident that you share that same commitment.  It is important to write letters weekly that are positive and uplifting, with support, encouragement and praise for the work he is doing in serving the Lord.  All missionaries face some challenges.  We will inform you of significant concerns or illness as we determine such information would be helpful to you and him.  Missionaries are asked not to call parents or friends as it distracts their attention from their work.  We also request that parents and friends not call missionaries.

 We extend our love to you and thank you for sending your son into the mission field.  Please feel free to write or call us if you wish. Sister Taylor manages a Facebook page and uploads many pictures for all to enjoy.  Please visit “The Texas, Dallas Mission-President and Sister Taylor” Facebook page.  We unite our prayers with yours for the well-being, success, and happiness of your son as he serves the Lord in this great work.

Sincerely,

Brian K. Taylor, President

Texas Dallas Mission

Landed in Dallas

This is the letter we received from Trev's mission President this afternoon... I like the last part

Dear Missionary Family,

We just want to let you know that your missionary has arrived in Dallas and is part of a wonderful group of 11 new missionaries today!

Attached you will see the pictures taken at the Dallas Temple as they came in from the airport.  The group had lunch on the way, and are spending the afternoon and evening in orientation and training.  They will have dinner at the Mission Home with President and Sister Taylor and their family.  Then they will stay the night with a nearby companionship, and in the morning will be introduced to their trainer.  After a little more training together, they will leave for their area and begin their work.  We will follow up with a letter letting you know where they are serving and who their trainer is.

You will receive another email after transfers are complete with the actual location of your missionary.  Monday is their preparation day, so you should receive an email from them next week telling you about their first week in the Mission.  I’m sure you’re looking forward to that!

Thank you for sending us your missionary!  This will be a great experience for them.

Sincerely,

 Brian K. Taylor, President

Texas Dallas Mission

P.S. Elder Pattee said “Tell my mom I love her”

Last Email From The MTC

If you can believe it this is my last letter in the MTC! Nathan made it to the MTC and was able join me for a glass of bubbly for New Years Eve! He's going to be an awesome missionary. New Year's was fun but short lived because I try to be good at getting in bed on time. 

Christmas was awesome here and defiantly one to remember. David Archuleta (no idea how to spell his name) came and David Bednar spoke.

Some days I wish I just spoke English so I could better express my feelings but I am much improved on my Spanish and even though I still have a long ways to go, I know enough to say what's important and I have a bright outlook that I will continue to learn quickly. 

This week I have started to study with my investigators in mind, opposed to just studying with the intent of strengthening my own testimony and learning for myself. For a missionary this is such a better way to study because Christ didn't study and teach for himself he did it for others. I am continuing to study a lot in the New Testament in preparation for the Bible belt. I am starting to understand a lot more about Jesus Christ and I am really falling in love with his teachings.  

Yesterday we had "infield orientation" which is like a big seminar every missionary does before they leave. Anyways I went into it with a positive attitude. The seminar was from 8 in the morning to 5 at  night. By about 12 O'clock I had come to the conclusion that I was going to have more gray hairs than a senior missionary before the day was over. I was just having pretty pessimistic thoughts about missions in general (which isn't a good thing but hey that's how I felt). Anyways I said a prayer and about 30 minutes to an hour later, we started doing like mock missionary conversations with investigators. I was so much happier to share with this person the gospel message, with a genuine smile on my face tell them of the joys that it gives me and how it could do the same for them. Afterwards when we returned to our seats I felt the spirit so strong and was blessed with such a better outlook on my mission. It was a true answered prayer. 

Stay Stylish My Friends! New Years Eve with Nathan

The MTC Elite. True homies. All these guys have great stories!

Elder Lee and Jacobson

Elder Sullivan,  he's one of the only people that had any sarcasm 

​We were going for the Step Brothers look here. Did we pull it off?

Elder Sablan 

Heading Our Separate Ways

My Acquisition