Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Merry Christmas everyone! I have been overdue in sending a letter about what in the world I am doing here - so here are the highlights of this week.

First off - serving with Elder Halling and Elder Vecchi is the best. There is no other way I would want to end my mission than with these two Elders. We have been having a real hoot. Good. Clean. Wholesome. Fun. The Calvert, Tait & Associates way. Also, being able to serve around 2 dedicated Sister Missionaries, Sister Zickella and Hermana De Leon, has been another big blessing.

For Christmas Eve we went to the mission home for dinner. We re-enacted the nativity and did a white elephant gift exchange! We were the 3 wise men. I don't know if it was wise to make us the wise men but you know what, we enjoyed it regardless. The nativity part was a blast. We were all in ridiculous clothing, and there was even a camel costume there. The fishbowl missionaries took home the best gifts from the white elephant. We snagged up squishy sand, a make your own snow packet, and a tranquility fountain. 

Christmas was fantastic! In the morning all of the senior couples got together and made the younger missionaries breakfast. Had a great Skype with the family! I love you guys so much and I am excited to see you, but I have bittersweet emotions about leaving. Alas, this time comes for everyone! Only thing I can do is focus until the end, and remember who I am serving when I put my name badge on every day. Regardless, it was great to speak with my family and I was thrilled to be able to share a spiritual message with you at the end and also for you to be able to Skype a little bit with Daniel. It’s a long story, but due to a unique position I’m in, I have been blessed with the opportunity to end my mission in Scotland where I’ll baptize one of the finest men I’ve met, Daniel Coleman. That man has real character. 

After the video call we went to a member's house for dinner! It was really nice of them to have us over. By the time we were finished eating we were  ready to hit our beds. I had a good night’s sleep. I enjoy sleep.

Saturday we did service in the temple, helping out in the laundry. I love being in the Boston Temple. Being there, even if it’s just doing the laundry, brings me so much peace. That day had been set aside for all of the recent converts in the mission to go do baptisms for the dead. The goal was to have over 100 recent converts there with their own family names. There were over 100 there, but only 95 had family names! So everyone is scrambling to make another trip before January. Really exciting though. Since there were so many people there the laundry was hectic. They kept running out of jumpsuits and towels. But we came in and took care of it. 

This has been a great week and I am excited for what every day this next week has in store for us! 

Elder Tait

With Elders Halling and Vecchi at the Boston Temple

 

       With Mission President, President Packard

My Mission Has....

The Sisters' letter?

Mom, you know sometimes it’s hard to sit down and write a letter, so I just told the Sisters to send me what they wrote and I can send it to you and you can take whatever you want from it and put it on my group e-mail/blog. Thank you mom. I love you.

Sister’s letter:

Sometimes miracles are barely noticeable, and really can only be appreciated in the after math. These kind of miracles happen to me everyday.

But sometimes, miracles are ... really noticeable. Like the miracle that happened in this mission during the month of November. Let me fill you in ...

So, background knowledge: The 5 states that make up our mission are all on the "Top Ten Least Religious States" list. Also, New England has the lowest number of Mormons per capita in the country. But the members who are here are so strong and faithful, and when President and Sister Packard got to the mission, about 20 - 30 people were baptized every month.

Now, we are not a numbers oriented mission. Never once the entire 18 months that I have been here has anyone ever told me my numbers were too low, or for that matter, ever praised me for high numbers. We just care about working hard and giving our all and relying on the Lord. But since the Packards have come, baptisms have pretty much doubled, with between 40 - 45 baptisms a month, our all time high being 49.

But, the Lord's work is hastening, and President felt like we weren't reaching our full potential. So this month, after a series of events including an apostolic blessing from Elder Holland, a visit from Elder Lawrence, and some serious spirit and drive going on in the missionaries, we set the goal for 70 baptisms in our mission in the month of November. I don't know how to describe what's been happening here the past month ... it's like every one is on fire. Everyday we would hear stories about miracles happening somewhere, in addition to seeing it ourselves.  People all over the mission who had been meeting with the missionaries but were too scared to commit suddenly had a change of heart. People were literally committing to be baptized and then 2 hours later the baptism would happen. Every single prayer that each missionary has offered this month included a plea for the Lord to bless and watch over these people preparing for baptism. Each of us sacrificed something specific for this month in an effort to show the Lord we were serious about this.

And guess what? Yesterday we found out the total number of people who were baptized this month. 

100. 100 people.

From Elder Tait:

"Elder Halling is the best! He wants to be here and he has helped me with my Creole!  I am also in a trio with Elder Vecchi!  There was a missionary who didn’t come out of the MTC so President made us a trio and it is the best!"

Old....

New....

The Digital Mission

Thank you for your e-mail! I love you Mom. You are the best. I loved hearing about Halloween. It looks like nothing has changed! Plum Hollow is still Plum Hollow! 

And what in the world is going on with Baby Babushka! I jumped out of my seat because I just couldn’t believe that was the Baby Babushka. What in the world? She is growing up!  And also it was great to see Annie and Berkeley together. How is Berkeley doing? 

The Digital Mission is doing great! We are making headway! Yesterday was the first time a person was baptized into the Church who was found through MBM proselyting efforts! His name is J---- K----! He is from Uganda. The Boston Digital Mission found him online and we sent him the address to the Church there. He went on Sunday, met the missionaries, and came back two weeks later with a baptismal date! It has been great.

We also had a General Authority come and visit our mission. His name is Elder Larry Lawrence. He is actually a convert in his 20's. His story was great - simple but powerful. He gave a great talk and our mission is excited to work harder! We want to be fully consecrated missionaries. 

Sister Gledhill and Sister Zickella are the best! They make life great in the Fishbowl. They plan the meals out for the week and tell us what groceries to get and we all help cook at the church. They are also hard workers.

I am glad the sisters are sharing missionary opportunities in Relief Society, mom! This is important. When the Relief Society sisters stand up and share their experiences you need to write down who shared and who it involved, then give this info. to the missionaries so they can follow up on it.  

Love you,
Elder Tait

The Hand of the Lord

My mind draws a blank about what to write, even though there’s been a lot going on!

First off, I had another experience bumping into a native Hendersonian! I had to go on a quick exchange this week with Elder Kerr from our zone. 
He had a dinner appointment set up with a couple named the Sabey's. So, we arrived at the Sabey's and Elder Kerr and I were ready to have a great time. Brother Sabey was putting the finishing touches on dinner and we were waiting for Sister Sabey to come home from work. 

So, we started shooting the breeze with Brother Sabey - asking where he was from and what he does and having a swell conversation. So, then he asked us the same questions. I told him I was from Henderson, Nevada. He said that was where his wife was from. He asked me if I knew any Messinas. And I was like "What?!" I turn around and see their wedding picture, and sure enough there is Danielle Messina in the photo. What are the chances?! She came home -we talked about people we knew and just had a real hoot. It was one for the books. The chances of that happening! First it was Tatum, now Sister Sabey. The list will probably keep going!

This week I was privileged to be challenged to read The Book of Mormon and highlight any tender mercies that occur. Seeing how merciful the Lord was in helping Nephi complete such challenging tasks helped me understand how we can identify His tender mercies. They can come at any time in our lives. I have found through personal experience that they are easier to identify when we are struggling. The process of exercising our faith to overcome our struggles helps us   see the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father. 

Tender mercies can be looked at as signs that God is still there for us, and even though our challenges aren’t going away, it's his way of telling us we are doing what he wants of us. Tender mercies help us identify God's love, and are there to give us energy to keep moving forward.

I invite everyone to take a moment and think about the hand of the Lord in your lives. I promise you, you will be surprised at how much He is there for us. 

Have a great week everyone! 

Elder Tait

I Love Serving Jesus Christ on a Mission

In my previous area, Lynnfield, Calvert & Tait and Associates were blessed to have the opportunity to teach a woman named Caroline. She was very humble, patient, and willing to learn. She understood that she could seek and find answers from God for herself. We actually had to bid farewell to Caroline because she was going to Ireland for a foreign exchange program. This was a tough pill to swallow for Calvert & Tait and Associates, but we were happy because we got permission to Skype with her while she was gone! So this week I had the opportunity to teach Caroline on Skype! Elder Calvert was not able to attend, but I know he was there in spirit. Being able to Skype with Caroline was a miracle. She was still glowing with the Spirit of Christ. We were able to talk about how the exchange program was going, and her studies and her life in general. She is such a sincere person! We were able to talk about God's love for us individually, and how The Book of Mormon can answer our questions. Hearing about her recent experiences just confirms to me the truthfulness of the Gospel. We are going to try to teach her again later this week!

This week was a tough one for the Massachusetts Boston Mission. We have lost two great legends. Their two years of service have come to an end, but I know they will continue to build up the Lord's kingdom wherever they are. 

Elder Campbell's 2 years are up! I can't believe it! My first companion when I came out and now he’s gone! Where is the time going? I love the kid so much! He was the best trainer a goofball like me could have asked for. It was bittersweet to bid him farewell. He taught me so much. I am grateful for his patience and love, even when I was probably difficult to get along with at times. Those times in Amherst will never be forgotten. 

As if seeing Elder Campbell leave wasn’t enough, I also had to bid farewell to the man, the myth, the legend himself - the one who Superman calls when he is in danger - the ever elusive, the dynamic, my Haitian Brother, the one and only ELDER ANOFILS. We lost a true legend this week! 

I was privileged to work with Elder Anofils for 4 1/2 months. Those were some of the best months of my mission and even my life. I could go on forever about everything he has helped me with and done for me. For one, he helped me to start learning Haitian Creole, (thank goodness there are a lot of Haitians in Cambridge to keep helping me along!). He also gave me a better perspective of how great life is. He helped me realize the strength we can have when we put our whole hearts into serving Jesus Christ. He taught me to appreciate the simple things in life. I had so much fun with him. Elder Anofils is the youngest of 7 children. He is originally from Haiti. When he was 8 years old his Father, who was working in the United States to save money to move the family here, passed away. Elder Anofils actually never met his father. He left to come work here before Elder Anofils was born. When growing up in Haiti Elder Anofils only finished the 1st grade because he had to work to earn money for his family. He didn't see a car or telephone until he was 10. He saw things growing up that no human should see - let alone a child. Needless to say he did not grow up the way I did. He came over to the United States with his family when he was 12 years old and was put into the 7th grade. You know how hard that must have been? He didn’t know a word of English and was thrown into the 7th grade with only a 1st grade education. Look where he is now. He’s a high school graduate and is going on to college.

What impresses me the most though, and makes me look up to him so much is his conversion to the church. He was 13 years old and living in Florida when he met the missionaries. In Florida there is a large Haitian population, so there are Haitian-speaking missionaries who serve there. He met with them and as he described it, he just knew it was true. He was 13 and he knew it was true. He woke up every Sunday and was picked up and driven to church by a Young Men leader.  At first they drove in silence because of the language barrier. Church was mainly in English. He has no idea what was being said! But he just knew it was true! He said he could feel it! He joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and continued to stay active, learned English, turned 19 and, despite all odds, both financially and spiritually, served a mission. He gave two years to the Lord. To come from nothing and still give everything you have to the Lord is amazing love and dedication.

What a great blessing and example he has been in my life. He will always be one of my best friends. The most spiritual moment we had together was when I got a phone call from him 3 months ago. He told me he had found his father’s name! He kept on saying over the phone, "I found my fathers name! I found his records!" I will never forget it. He said, "Tait, I want you to be baptized for my father." Tears filled my eyes and 3 weeks later I was baptized for Elder Anofils’ father in the Boston Temple. I know I’ll continue to learn from Elder Anofils’ example of serving the Lord and putting Him first in our lives.

So, we were walking through Harvard’s Law School campus this last week when I saw a girl, maybe 20 yards away, walking towards me. We kind of kept looking at each other when I heard her say, "Jackson! Is that you?" "Tatum Gormley!?” I was freaking out! The one and only Tatum Gormley! [School friend of Jackson & Hillary] I couldn't believe it. She’s going to Harvard Law – how cool is that?  She was just as cool as ever. We stood at the corner of the intersection talking for a few minutes and catching up. I was able to get her phone number and maybe we’ll go to lunch one of these days. It made me smile hearing the first three digits of her phone number: 702. 


I apologize for the novel, but I am can't express how much I love serving Jesus Christ on a mission.  Working to become more of who my Heavenly Father wants me to be brings me so much joy. I love you family! Remember you are always in my heart and on my mind. I know families are together forever! Keep the Tait name strong and golden!

Catch you on the flip!

Elder Jackson Loren Tait the First

The Digital Mission

Mom! Got your e-mail! YOU ARE THE BEST FOR SENDING THE FOOD! I can't tell you how much I needed that! I love those loaves of bread. They keep me alive in the morning. When I got here I was 201 pounds and right now I’m 198. At this rate I'll weigh less than Babushka!

Elder Reeve is getting transferred to Revere! Crazy huh? He's going to a great area. An Elder Graff is coming in to be my companion. I am doing all right! Things are moving along! I work in the Longfellow Park Chapel, and we work in this room the members call the "Fishbowl". The walls are all glass. In the Fishbowl there are 2 companionships, so 4 of us working full-time on the digital mission. Elder Reeve (soon to be Elder Graff) and I are together and we cover the Longfellow Park 1st Ward. The second companionship is Elder Worthington and Elder Benedict and they cover the Longfellow Park 2nd Ward. Since we basically don't proselyte, we have a normal proselyting set of sister missionaries, Sister Platt and Sister Klecker, who cover both Longfellow Wards. They cover the regular proselyting and teaching during the day while we are in the Fishbowl doing online proselyting.

So, as the digital mission leader, I am in charge of the missionaries in the Fishbowl, as well as the part-time digital missionaries across the mission. Elder Reeve is one of the humblest guys I know. He's always willing to work together to get things done. Everything has been great! This is the Lord's work and I need to remember that. President has set a goal for us to have 10 baptisms by December 15th! There’s no way we’ll have 1 baptism without the Lord leading and guiding us. It is an exciting challenge! I am currently chatting online with about 7 solid people. We’ve had some great conversations on Facebook, which will hopefully lead to teaching them the discussions through video chat.  I have other people I’m keeping in touch with, as well.  Please pray for all these people.  I know you don’t know their stories, but I need the family to pray for them.  

I love you Mom!

Elder Tait

More Grateful

Today was real special. We were able to go the Boston Temple with a recent convert, Linda Bain! The miracle woman herself! It was her first time and she had her mother and father’s names to perform ordinances for. Elder Calvert and I were able to see each other at the temple again - it was great! Been away from the kid for 6 days, and we’ve already had a great reunion. It was pretty neat, as well, because Linda asked me to be baptized for her father and Elder Calvert performed the baptism. We were blessed that she invited us to do so. She is one of the most dedicated members I know. The ordinance of doing baptisms for the dead reminds me that the Gospel is available for everyone. It also helps remind me to be more grateful for the gift of the Atonement, which is the foundation of our Heavenly Father's plan. 

I am currently serving with Elder Reeve! I had an unexpected transfer because Elder Reeve has been serving in the digital mission for 8 months now and is for sure being transferred out this next transfer. President needed me to come down 2 weeks before transfers to learn about the digital mission before Elder Reeve leaves. It's great. We serve in the YSA ward (for 25-30 year olds) in Longfellow Park. It's a real missionary minded ward. They are great and not surprisingly quite smart as well! Gospel Principles was a doozy with some of the vocabulary they were using! We walk through the campuses of Harvard and Lesley Universities every day. It's neat to be around some of the smartest minds. However, I continue to realize that the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't need to be explained with large words or physical evidence. It's simple enough that even as 8 year olds we can make a covenant (a two way promise) to God that we will keep his commandments and if we do Heavenly Father in turn promises to bless us. 

This week has been great! Met this guy named Earl on the bus the other day. Good guy. He's 19. He was excited to hear the message of the Restoration. It was good to see him so interested. He got so excited that he told us his pastor needed to hear our message. I don't know his pastor, but he may not be as excited as Earl - but hey! Let's not doubt! Excited to see what the Lord brings us this week! I just want to say I know this is the one and only true church established on the earth. We have a Prophet and Apostles on the earth again, just as Jesus Christ established when he was on the earth. This is The Church of Jesus Christ restored in these Latter-days.

Elder Tait

A Transfer!

Sorry Mom! I only have a few minutes to spare! I want to quickly talk about how special Frank's baptism was. Mother I could strongly feel the presence of the Holy Ghost. Frank has changed so much. It was one of the best baptisms ever. That 76 year-old man has changed! It was the simplest, yet most powerful baptismal service I have been to. He has really touched my life. You can tell the man will do anything to get back to his wife and daughter. After he was baptized, Bishop Romano gave some closing comments that touched Frank’s heart. He was laughing; he was crying - the whole nine yards. He makes me laugh. That funny man. We will always be the “bestest” of friends with Frank. The influence of the Holy Ghost can’t be taken for granted. When we recognize the Holy Ghost it gives us the motivation and diligent desire to come closer to Christ. 

I am being transferred! I leave tomorrow for Cambridge where I’ll be in the Longfellow 1st Ward. I’m really bummed to be leaving Elder Calvert.  It’s tough – but these things happen.  We will always be bros.  I know we will stay in frequent contact.

Also, I will be sending a large amount of boxes home of things from my mission. Some of it may appear to be garbage to you, BUT PLEASE DO NOT THROW ANY OF IT AWAY! Thank you mom! Sorry I won't be able to send an e-mail to everyone! I love you Mom!

Special Occasions and the Celtics!

This week we had a bunch of special occasions. We were able to go to the temple twice this week which was amazing. The first time we went with the youth to do baptisms for the dead. The second time we went to go through the temple with the Conklins. They were baptized a year ago and went through the temple for the first time on Saturday. They were also sealed on Saturday. It was the first time I have ever been to a sealing and wow, it was incredible. What an amazing opportunity we have to be sealed with our families for time and all eternity. Afterwards, Brother Conklin said that it was the best day of his life. So exciting!!! The Conklins are so awesome. They are such a great example to me.

We had some other cool things going on this week. On Thursday, we went down to the Celtics Practice Facility! YEAH! TOO COOL. Life dream come true. There are some sister missionaries in our mission who are in charge of what is called the Portable Visitor's Center. They go around the mission to special events and have a bunch of displays set up with iPads that show videos on different subjects of the gospel. So, they asked if they could interview Elder Calvert (who plays basketball for BYU) and take some film of him playing ball. Brother Ainge hooked us up and let us do it in the Celtics facility! It was pretty sweet! They asked Elder Calvert about his life with basketball and also about the Word of Wisdom and how it has been a blessing in his life. It was pretty darn fun. They said they are using it for one of the displays. I helped the Sisters with the filming and will also edit the video. We also got some film of us shooting around together. It was a cool opportunity and I’m glad I was able to help! 

Elder Calvert and I had a really good week as far as the work goes as well. We had a lot of things going on outside of our normal proselyting this week, but we still managed to have some good experiences. I think the most exciting thing is the change in Frank Tower. He has allowed the gospel and Atonement of Jesus Christ to transform him. I am a witness of what the gospel can do when people fully immerse themselves in it. It changes lives and changes hearts. I am so grateful for the gospel and for the Savior. Each of us has an opportunity to change because of Him. 

A Real Hoot

This week has been a real hoot. I'll begin with the marshmallow war.

Elder Calvert and I were at Bishop Romano's house with his family having dinner. We had a great lesson about the teamwork of Alma and Amulek in The Book of Mormon. Afterwards the Romanos were having the young men come over for mutual and to have a marshmallow war using small PVC pipes with mini-marshmallows for shooting. They handed Elder Calvert and me some pipe guns and we decided we could get some wiggles out for 10 minutes. So, it was our last round playing with the Young Men before we had to go to a lesson. Elder Calvert and I were on opposing teams. Elder Calvert was too busy taking out the rag tag team of deacons and wasn't looking when I came up behind him - just as he turned and saw he was about to get pelted by marshmallows. From point blank 

I missed and he got overly excited because he knew he had a chance to finish me off. He was trying to get more ammo into his PVC gun, when I instinctively knocked his pipe out of his hands - trying to come in hot. He started back-pedaling and tripped over a log, but I made it look like I had tackled the kid. As soon as I knew Elder Calvert wasn’t hurt, I quickly loaded some mallows and finished him off. The YM and their leaders suggested that Elder Calvert and I needed to do a companionship inventory. Oh well. What can you do. 

So moving on. This week was Zone Meeting and we wanted to blow the socks off our Zone. We really needed to help them learn to listen and teach. We called in the top gun in our ward - Brother Stokes. He worked for the CIA for 6 years. Brother Stokes is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to human behavior and working with people. We thought it would be great to get walkie-talkies to fit the theme. We also made the Zone CIA ID cards for the full experience. I tell you what - those walkie-talkies are something. Everyone needs to get a pair of those. When Elder Calvert is in the kitchen getting a bowl of cereal and I'm in the other room studying, I just walkie him to bring me some and problem solved. No need for yelling. It’s great. 

Elder Cathcart and Elder Treseder are the Spanish Elders in the Revere ward. They live in an apartment that had a room full of junk that was there before they lived there. The landlord did an apartment check and was not happy with the room full of junk and said they needed to clear it out in a day. So Elder Cathcart and Treseder gave us a ring and asked if we could help them out. Being professionals at moving junk (that is not ours) out of apartments - we happily accepted. We got there after Zone Meeting and changed into some service clothes. I placed my suit at the top of the stairwell. We spent about an hour stuffing trash into bags and throwing them down the stairwell. Elder Treseder and Calvert were a trash taxi service - going back and forth to the dumpster as Elder Cathcart and I kept stuffing trash. When we were done and I went to put my suit back on. I put my shirt on. The tie on. The suit coat on. Then I looked for my pants. I couldn’t find my pants. I asked the other Elders where my suit pants were. Elder Calvert and Treseder looked at each other and realized they might have made a mistake. When we were throwing trash down, my pants fell with the trash and they thought they were trash. I guess Elder Treseder looked at the pants and said:

"Wow these are nice pants, 36x36. Hey, Elder Calvert would these fit you?"
"Probably not, that's probably Tait's size. You think he’d want them?"
"Who knows. We should just chuck them."

Elder Cathcart gave me a pair of his 34x32 slacks. Those things looked like capris on me. We jetted over to the donation dumpster where my pants were. The dumpster was designed so you couldn’t take anything out without a key. So we had to lift up Elder Treseder all together and lower him into the dumpster so he could retrieve my pants. So there were 3 missionaries in the middle of a Home Depot parking lot, throwing another missionary into a dumpster to get some pants. Boy, we sure had an audience. Good news is we were able to retrieve the pants. It took some time and fishing by Treseder - but we did it.

It was a great week all around. Besides the irrelevant stories the week turned out well. We've had some great teaching opportunities. The message we offer as representatives of Jesus Christ can only add to people’s lives. Still, I can understand the hesitancy some may have to speak with us. We met this girl, Charliya, who has a strong love of the Savior, but feels she is missing so much in life. We gave her a message about The Restoration and she was excited about it. She agreed to pray to know if the Church was true. We showed up the next day and she said she’d prayed and felt the path she was already on was right. It is difficult to be in that position - to help someone realize that Heavenly Father has more to offer them - in only 2 minutes - can be challenging. But, the spirit took over as we addressed her concerns and thoughts. She talked about wanting to speak to her pastor about it. We answered that if she wanted to find out about the Baptist church, where should she go? To a Baptist Church. If she wanted to find out about the Jewish faith, who should she talk to? A practicing Jew. So, if she wanted to know more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it would be best to talk to missionaries for the Church. The light-bulb clicked on with her and she realized that it was up to her to listen and hear our message, and then ask Heavenly Father if it is of God or man. Everyone have a great week. Hope all is well at home!

Love,

Elder Tait!

Lynnfield Zone

Something Else!

This week has been something else! Elder Calvert and I have been all over the place. Fortunately, we are no longer a maid service, with all the apartments finally being cleaned. We have just been blessed abundantly with people to share this Gospel with. The Savior is really strengthening our own testimonies as we invite others to gain one for themselves. Some updates on some people! Especially Bridget!

Bridget's baptism went flawlessly! It was a blessing for me to be an instrument in the Lord's hand in baptizing her. Elder Calvert felt the same way as he was able to confirm her. She had 13 non-member friends at her baptism. It was great. She already has her temple recommend and will be ready to do baptisms for the dead August 13th. It'll be great. She is going to help so many other people come unto the true church of Christ. She inspires me to be bolder in sharing the Gospel.

Frank Tower is the man! 76 years old and has a sharp attitude and a witty mind. He's always trying "to pick a fight". I think I might have said this before but his classic lines are – as he throws his left fist up -- "This one will put you in the hospital.” Then he throws up his right fist and says, "This one will put you in the grave." We don't know how much he understands but we do know he has been changed through prayer and scripture study. He's already in the book of Enos! He’s received an answer every time he’s had a question. Frank has a very childlike attitude. He want's to talk to you, Dad and Mom! I'm giving him our home phone. That will be one interesting phone call.

Teaching Caroline Trainor the Gospel has by far been one of my most enjoyable experiences. She is awesome. She read Alma 30 this past week and wrote down some notes! We're excited to see what she’s got. We are practicing the principles that President Christensen taught in his “Power of the Everyday Missionary” book. We've seen great success with this. As well as it has pushed Elder Calvert and me to study our scriptures more. She has some questions that we know the answers to, but we don't know where to find them in the scriptures. 

We have been blessed with teaching the Bulaya Family! Korlu (the wife) is from Libya and Paul (the husband) is from Zambia in Africa. Paul wanted a Bible and we were able to meet up with them and began teaching them. They have two of the most adorable children. Naomi is 4 and PJ is 2. PJ belongs on a Pampers commercial. That kid is too darn cute. You can't tell me he's not adorable when he wears a onesie that says "Captain Adorable." You just can't beat that!

Got to split! Elder Calvert and I are going to Cambridge to dip the ball with some missionaries and ward members! This week has been a constant reminder for me to enjoy the precious time I have to minister unto others. It's important we take moments to reflect on how important this message is and why we need to believe it in order to teach it to others. 

Have a great week everyone!

Elder Tait.

More Scattered Than the People at the Tower of Babel

To whom it may concern,

This week was was pure madness. We were more scattered than the people at the Tower of Babel this week. We had to clean 2 apartments before moving into our new one. There was an apartment in the town of Reading where missionaries lived before they were pulled out of the area. The apartment's lease had not expired though, so it had been sitting empty. Since it was in our area, we were assigned to clean it out and move the furniture from there to our new apartment in Peabody. Let me say, whoever lived in that Reading apartment probably were planning on opening a Salvation Army store because it was full of so much random stuff – including: A grill, a fire rescue ladder, a Christmas tree, a Foosball table, a Jimmer Freddette poster, a pair of HIGH QUALITY 1986 Reebok's, a vacuum from the 60's, coal, a treadmill from the 70's, 2 Nerf guns, 6 suits, 15 white button down shirts, and much more. We had to grab a group of 8 missionaries to clean this apartment on the 3rd floor. We had a box of large black garbage bags - you know the big ones? Well get this. We had - count it - 19 LARGE black bags filled to the brim with trash. 19 LARGE black garbage bags! It was madness. We were there for nearly 3 hours and were only able to clean 2 rooms. It was remarkable. 

On top of this we had one of our best teaching weeks! It was great. The people the Lord has placed in our path have blessed our lives greatly – and it’s not because of anything we’ve done. These are people who are doing everything to find the truth and build a relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and feel the presence of the Holy Ghost. Bridget Kimball is getting baptized this Saturday. She is awesome. She drives around in her car all day and listens to conference talks.  Another superstar worth mentioning is Frank Tower. He has caught on fire! He reads about 3 chapters of the Book of Mormon everyday. The change that I have seen in him since the first time I met him has been truly remarkable. I love Frank. Caroline is also awesome. She came to church for the first time this week. She is so dang cool. She had offers to play D1 golf, but decided not to. We found out this week that she shoots in the mid to low 70's and drives the ball about 330 yards off the tee. That is a long, long drive for any of you who may not know much about golf. Elder Calvert and I are amazed by how humble Caroline is and how willing she is to learn. She is going to Ireland in a few weeks for study abroad, but we are probably going to continue teaching her over Skype! We had a ton of other things happen this week, but this is all I’ll mention for now. We have another great, jam-packed week ahead of us! I love you all and am so grateful for your support!

The insights our mission presidency shared with us this week have greatly enhanced the way I study the scriptures - specifically The Book of Mormon. When we begin to read a novel we start at the first page. This is the best way to understand the story. But this is not the only way we should study The Book of Mormon. It is great to read it from beginning to end, but questions can be answered through searching throughout the The Book of Mormon. Like I said, the beginning of a novel is the first page, but the beginning to The Book of Mormon is our questions. You know how many times I have given The Book of Mormon to someone, quickly explained it, then expected them to get something out of it? That does happen sometimes, but the best way to share the Book of Mormon with friends and investigators is to have them turn to the Book for answers to their own questions. Our studies will often lead us to receive personal revelation. I have felt this divine intervention in my own studying time after time, and I am always guided to find the answers. I encourage everyone to look to the Book of Mormon for answers to your questions and doubts.  

Elder Tait

Tender Mercies Due To Faith

Greetings loved ones!

This week has been absolute chaos, and this next week we have more on our plate than we could say grace over. We have to clean 2 apartments out. We have to move into a new apartment. We have 8 appointments. One Zone Conference. We have 2 baptismal interviews that need to be done. All of this needs to be completed by Thursday. We have no idea how it's going to happen, but it'll happen. 

We have been so blessed with people to teach here in Lynnfield. My testimony of the Lord giving us tender mercies due to faith is growing stronger and stronger everyday. It is remarkable how great our days go when we are following the promptings of the spirit and do what He wants us to do.

We are excited this week. Due to the great experience of serving with my boy, Elder Anofils, we were able to start teaching a Haitian Creole man. Haitian's can speak faster than Jimmy Johnson can drive a car. Excited to see how that opportunity goes. We continue to have great spiritual moments as we teach a bushel-full of people who are prepared to hear about the gospel. The exhilarating feeling of doing everything you can to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ is an experience that cannot be replicated in any other way. My trials have also strengthened my testimony that this is the Lord's kingdom on earth. The world has drifted away from the basic fundamental principles of self-discipline and hard work. Any way to do less work for more gain is favored. The injustice we are doing to ourselves. Some might disagree with this, but taking the easy out will usually always catch up with us. Working hard is not easy, but we grow more under pressure as opposed to coasting. We all fall into the trap of coasting, but it is important to realize the difference between relaxing as opposed to staying idle. Our attitude in life depends on how we look at ourselves and, more importantly, realizing how Heavenly Father looks at us. We are literally sons and daughters of Heavenly Father. The motivation we can receive from understanding this will always help us fulfill our potential. 

Hope everyone has a great week! 

With love,

Elder Tait

Sponsored by Calvert and Tait & Associates.......Enjoy your stay.

Calvert and Tait & Associates have never seen the growth that we are experiencing at this time. We’ve also had some funny things happen recently. 

We'll start with this story: Here I am with a bush of hair. Something needs to be done. It's P-Day and it's time to cut my hair. The problem is, all the barbers around here close their shops on Monday. Don't know if that is common with every barber or just some. Regardless – there we were - Elder Calvert, standing at 6'3”, and me, standing at 6'6", in our Toyota Corolla with our knees to our chins cruising around Salem/Peabody. We quickly caught on to the fact that the barbershops weren’t open after spending 1 hour in the car and visiting 7 shops. When we’d almost lost hope we spotted a barber with an open sign. We whipped the car around, jumped out, and sure enough we had come across a barbershop miracle. We entered to find a man who didn’t speak much English. I thought it was Arabic the man was speaking, but as I sat down in the barber’s seat and looked around I realized that the man was from the Dominican Republic. This was based on all the Dominican flags that were hanging up, and the tattoo he had of his country’s flag. I honestly struggled to tell what language he was speaking with his buddies. I am no language expert and I don't speak Spanish - but it didn’t sound like Spanish. Still, barely understanding his English, he continued with the haircut. Due to poor eyesight I wear glasses and for those who don't know, you really can't get a haircut with your glasses on. I pulled my glasses off and became blinder than a bat in the middle of day. But, I felt regardless of the language barrier, he understood what type of haircut I was looking for. Clean cut. Since I was blind, I could only tell how the haircut was going by how it felt. As it continued, I zoned off into my own little world, doing my best to ignore the heavy Dominican music in the background, when my barber friend asked me a question. It was something about my sideburns. I thought he was asking if I wanted my sideburns trimmed. I said sure why not. Need to make sure my sideburns are clean. But then, as I sat there blindly the thought dawned on me that maybe he had asked about shaving my sideburns. As the haircut ended and I put my glasses back on I saw that my Dominican friend had indeed given me a traditional sideburnless hair cut. So, I have no sideburns. But - no worries - they’ll grow back. 

One other story from this week was the infamous 5 Gallon Cooler Baptism of July ‘14. In the Zone there is a small Spanish branch in the town of Lynn. Lynn's meetinghouse is relativity small and does not have a font. Whenever a baptism occurs in the Spanish Branch it usually takes place at the Lynnfield chapel, which is about 7 miles away. They had a baptism yesterday at 2:30 PM. They put Calvert and Tait & Associates in charge of making sure we started filling the font at 12:30 PM. No problem whatsoever. We put two signs up telling people to let the font run so it would be filled in time. Here at Calvert and Tait & Associates, we do our best to make sure you get The Finest Quality Service.  We turned on the font at 12:30 PM. Go quickly to an appointment form 1:00 to 2:00. We come back to the chapel at 2:15 to see how the font is doing. Walk into the bathroom to find someone has turned off the font, and it's only filled halfway. We have no idea how that font got turned off - but it did. Baptism begins in 5 minutes. What do we do? We realized the physical baptism probably wouldn’t start until 3:00 to 3:15. We cranked that puppy on full blast then had to figure out how in the world we were going to fill this thing in 30 minutes. We told the Spanish Elders to begin the service and close the door so no one could see us running back and forth. We ran into the kitchen and found one of those 5 gallons coolers that athlete’s use. We went to the custodian’s office where there is a place you can fill up buckets of water for mopping. We filled up the 5 gallon cooler, then ran it halfway down the hall and dumped it into the font and repeated this for 30 minutes. We felt like we were at Wet' N' Wild' – except we were in our suits. After chucking gallon after gallon in we finally had enough water for the baptism to take place. I tell you what - if I ever win a football game I would be really good at dumping the cooler on the Coach. Just saying. Yet again, here at Calvert and Tait & Associates, we do everything to make sure you Enjoy Your Stay. 

I apologize for the long e-mail – for those who have already dozed off - but if you get anything out of this letter I hope it will be the things the Lord has taught me in my personal studies.

Heavenly Father doesn’t want to see us fail. If this is so, it’s then easy to ask 
"Why is there opposition in all things?" Turning to the scriptures can help us answer this question and gain a fundamental knowledge of our Father in Heaven's Plan, as it says in 2 Nephi 2:24:

"But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him [Heavenly Father] who knoweth all things."

He knows we will succeed when we choose righteousness over wickedness. We cannot grow if we stay on a plateau. Adam and Eve were only able to progress by eating the fruit of the tree. But then it’s easy to ask, "What if I fail and give into temptation?” The answer is simple –  repentance is provided through the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus the Christ. In 2 Nephi Chapter 2, Lehi the Prophet, who has led his family out of Jerusalem to the Americas, is close to death. Before he dies he speaks to each of his sons. To his son Jacob Lehi talks about why there is opposition in all things. At the end of the chapter, Lehi talks clearly about the Savior's infinite gift that we can all access. In 2 Nephi 2:26-27 is says:

"26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

 27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."

What we do with our life is up to us. This can hurt at times, especially when we make decisions based upon on what we want and not what our Heavenly Father wants. The cunningness of the world focuses on instant satisfaction. But the truth is, disobedience leads us away from truth and down a road of selfishness, low self-control, loss of the influence of the Holy Ghost, and ultimately, eternal regret. It’s "comfortable" for people to pick and choose which of God's laws they’ll obey, but in doing this they are throwing away their opportunities to progress and grow and become more Christ-like. I know that the principle of agency is fundamental to God's plan. It can provide happiness and sorrow, depending on people’s choices. I can testify that those who align their agency with God's will will never plateau on their path to eternal life. I try myself to do this everyday. I come short many times, but I have never once regretted obeying a commandment of the Lord. This is the way to true freedom. I have such gratitude for those who have been examples to me of aligning their agency with God’s will. Their decisions have inspired me to become a more dedicated disciple of Christ. It may not be easy, but I promise it is worth it. It is always worth it. I know the Savior lives and has a hand in our lives. 

With love,

Elder Tait
Sponsored by Calvert and Tait & Associates.......Enjoy your stay.

But....OH, Were We Wrong....

 I have no idea where to begin this week!

For those who may not know there was a storm here on the east coast that came in this weekend and butchered many 4th of July plans. President Packard gave us permission to stay out and watch the fireworks. We planned on going to watch the show on the Charles River in the Cambridge/Boston area. The show got changed from the 4th to the 3rd due to storm Arthur. We were able to re-arrange everything to attend the show that night. Elder Calvert and I were excited to join missionaries in our Zone for a fireworks spectacular. We both thought we had a great idea. We wanted to provide cold refreshing beverages for the Zone, so we were able to get our hands on a cooler with wheels, some ice and delicious beverages. We thought that cooler was going to a real benefit, but, oh, were we wrong.

It was more convenient to take the T into Boston to watch the fireworks because traffic is terrible. We thought "Hey, we can take this cooler on the T, it's got wheels, what could go wrong?" Everything. The trip down to Boston wasn't so bad, but the trip back was something I’ll never forget. We were able to roll that dang cooler all over Cambridge and plant it at the Charles River to watch the fireworks. The fireworks were great! We had a great time as a Zone celebrating our freedom as a country by watching explosions in the air. After the show was done we began to make our voyage back to Salem. As you can imagine the T was stuffed to the brim. It was a zoo. People trying to merge their way in to get underground to the T. Remember, Elder Calvert and I are lugging this cooler around. 

Then from about 100 yards away we hear these loud screams. We had no idea what was happening, but quickly found out when we were suddenly drenched with rain. Then havoc broke out everywhere. People were running across the streets dodging cars for shelter. No rules applied. We felt like we were in a Godzilla movie. People were shoving each other to get underground. Bloody noses were happening left and right. People were soaked. We were doing everything we could to get underground as well, but this dang cooler kept on breaking and falling and getting trampled on - we were about to abandon it. We were going downstairs to the underground when the cooler top pops off and next thing you know a few water bottles are taking a trip down the stairs. That cooler was lucky we didn’t throw it off a cliff. When we got downstairs, I loosened the bottom of my pants and about 1/2 gallon of water came pouring out. It was not the most comfortable ride back on the T, but at least we still had that cooler.

Regardless of the cooler - this week has been great! Calvert and Tait & Associates are really seeing the Lord's hand time and time again. We are regularly meeting with Frank Tower who is 76 and claims his fist can put Rocky Balboa into a coma. We’ve received multiple invitations from Frank for a fist-fight in his backyard. We politely decline and then begin our lesson on Christ-like attributes. He'll get there. The Lynnfield ward is incredible. We have seen so much love and support. The members in this area have been great examples to us. We greatly enjoy being able to brainstorm and plan together with them to help further the work of salvation. It has been great. They personally have inspired me to know what I need to do when I am off my mission – starting with a family and a job - but still making sure I put the Lord's kingdom first.

Hope you guys are safe and sound in Europe! It's great to hear you are doing the Lord's work giving pass along cards in Czech even when you don't speak a lick of the language! Keep it real Tait Family!

With love,

Elder Tait

What Has NOT Happened This Week?

I mean, what has not happened this week!

First off, I just found out Hillary took a quick visit to Boston this weekend! How crazy is that! My oldest sister was 20 miles away from me! She met Elder Warner and Elder Stones in the Brookline Ward. It’s odd to think that was possible! I love you Hillary! You continue to make things happen in the concrete jungle of NYC -where dreams are made!

Second, I am glad to hear my family survived Ragnar! Miracles are happening left and right! The Tait/Dunn/McClure/Pugh families are so fit they make Rocky Balboa look like a couch potato.

Also, to continue - I don't know if I mentioned Elder Calvert in my last weekly e-mail - but Elder Calvert is the man! We have been working hard, having fun, and experiencing so many spiritual moments. Just two weeks with this guy and I already feel like he is my brother. He is wicked good at basketball. He's been teaching me the ropes of how to hoop like Stockton and Malone. He's from Parker, Colorado, about 20 minutes outside of Denver. (I actually think Sister Hoer is serving there right now). Went to BYU one year before coming out on his mission, and has served with Elder Laurent. Great things have been going down! Let me fill you in on a few of them!

We all know that finding investigators through members is more beneficial and effective than street contacting or tracting, etc. We have noticed since we’ve put a larger emphasis on working through the members that we have lost focus on opening our mouths. Finding people through members as well as street contacting are both important. Elder Calvert and I realized we needed to crank up the intensity there. When we have an extra 20 minutes we realize we need to hit the streets and open our mouths. This message is too important to let anyone go by without hearing it! 

So, Elder Calvert and I decided we could hit the streets of Salem on foot to save miles on our vehicle. We were only 1 mile away from the less-active member we wanted to contact. We left our place at 7:30 PM. It should have taken only 10 minutes to get there, right? INCORRECT! We talked to legions of people on our way, so we got there at 8:30 PM! We got contact information for 13 potential investigators and we ran into two less-active members who we have been trying to get in touch with forever! 

"It's great to meet you sir! Have you ever heard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?"

"Uh yeah...I am actually a member of the Church."

"That is grea.....wait, what?"

That was our reaction both times. When we were on this little contacting adventure of ours we contacted a wonderful young adult, named Belinda. We were having a great discussion on the basic principles of the Church when we noticed from the corners of our eyes, a girl in her early 20's pull over to the side of the street and walk up to us. She told us she had met a friend over summer break a year ago at a leadership camp, who is on a mission now in Japan. Her friend e-mailed her and asked her to stop and talk to the missionaries when she saw them next. She saw us talking to Belinda, pulled a U-turn, parked her car, and came up and asked us if she could meet up with us. Elder Calvert and I were waiting for Ashton Kutcher to pop out of the bushes with cameras. When we didn't see our homeboy Ashton anywhere we knew it was legit. What a tender mercy and another spiritual experience that was brought by opening our mouths and being obedient (saving on car miles), and being enthusiastic! Also it goes to show how large the work of salvation is! It has inspired me to invite more people to do the same back home in Henderson!  Also, I was able to use a little Haitian Creole to pick up a family of 5 as new investigators. Credit to Elder Anofils!

Then the next night, here we are at 8:55. The dinner we‘d had earlier that day was doing a number on Elder Calvert’s and my digestive systems. We had a perfect reason to go home, but for some reason we mustered the strength to go out and try one more less-active member’s door. We are walking when we see an African-American on the other side of the street. We shouted out across the street asking him how he was doing. His name was Erastus. He's 18, and he is from Libya. He was on his way to practice some soccer. After we explained what we did and whom we were representing, he was so stoked to meet with us! He loves missionary work! We went over to his house the next day and met his family and taught about the restoration. It was remarkable. In the lesson Erastus asked if we thought people somehow came over to America from the Tower of Babel. Again we were waiting for Ashton Kutcher to pop out from behind the couch - when we didn't see him we knew this was legit! The Lord is truly preparing his people. Elder Calvert and I have been enjoying just hitting the streets everyday and inviting everybody. We already have our business model: "Calvert & Tait & Associates...Enjoy your stay." 

We are having too much fun! We found out we are moving apartments from Salem to Peabody. It will be more central to the area and save us some miles! Plus the place we are moving to has a basketball court and you better believe Calvert & Tait & Associates will be hitting that place up every morning! We'll be moving there in a month. Exciting things are happening left and right. When there are moments in the day we feel overwhelmed or exhausted I just remember whose work this is and then unexplainable energy comes from nowhere. I know that Jesus Christ is preparing his people. All will have a chance to hear the Gospel. This message is so important we cannot deny anyone hearing it. Do not miss any opportunity to share the gospel. Hope everyone has a great week! Love you Family!

Elder Tait

Like Brothers

Mother!

Elder Calvert is the man. I have been having a great experience since we started serving with each other. Just feeling that trust that we’ve got one anothers backs - like brothers. It has been great. We both just want to work and to have fun as well. It has been such a relief and a blessing. No worries or concerns at all. Pushing through one day at a time. Doing my best and forgetting the rest. Glad to hear about Lily's birthday, spiritual temple sealings, Aaron's farewell talk, and Ragnar. You guys are going to do great. There was a group of ladies in the Relief Society that did it here and loved it. The World Cup is a blast. Too exciting - keep on letting me know how my boys are doing. 

Thank you Mother for reading Preach My Gospel. I agree with what you said. Christlike attributes can't be developed without faith in Christ. The Lord has given us many gifts and talents. These talents and gifts can be expounded on as we nourish our Christlike attributes. This has made a world of a difference for me. When exercising Christlike attributes my day always goes better. I love how you picked out diligence to work on. That is one I need to work on as well, especially everyday as a missionary. I really cannot express to you how much this means. I wrote a letter to Dad, and this is my Preach My Gospel thought this week:

What I learned form Preach My Gospel this week is from page 2 on what our purpose as missionaries is:

"As your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase. You will feel, as Lehi did, the "great...importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth." (2 Nephi 2:8)

How important it is to convert ourselves in believing in the atonement of Christ before helping others. Just imagine how much more powerful our message is when we actually mean it, instead of just saying it. I have found the best lessons I have learned from the mission are ones that come from my heart instead of my mind. 

Mother, I hope you have a great week! Continue to share the gospel. I would love nothing more than to hear from Annie and Lily weekly. If you could please encourage them in this that would be great. How are you doing Mom? I hope everything is great at home. Please let me know how Dad and the family are doing.

With love,
Elder Tait

Sarah Gusky Kemer's baptism

Elder Calvert is the man!