Boi Manaus...The Festa Zone

From Taylor Mission Pics

A View of Ponta Negra Beach

From Taylor Mission Pics

Out of the Water...Piranhas!!!!!!!!

From Taylor Mission Pics

Sun, Soda, and Good Friends

From Taylor Mission Pics

AHHH...Memories of the California Coast

From Taylor Mission Pics

The Famous Tropical Hotel

From Taylor Mission Pics

Life on the Rocks

From Taylor Mission Pics

Staff Family Portrait: Elders Reis, Mackay, Murray, Marinho, and Sant´Anna

From Taylor Mission Pics

Come Fly with Me

From Taylor Mission Pics

By Land, Air, or River...We'll Get it Done

From Taylor Mission Pics

Monkey See...Monkey Do

From Taylor Mission Pics

Tropical (10/29/09)

The festivals in Manaus, that had music blasting until 3 a.m., have finally come to an end. This past week I had an interesting experience with both my companions. First off, Elder Reis went to get a tooth extracted, but he couldn't handle the anesthesia, so the doctor only started the procedure (gashed the inside of his mouth) and stitched it back up. Elder Murray then got pretty sick. Apparently, he had a bad fever, so that left just me and Elder Reis. Unfortunately, Elder Reis' stitches opened up, limiting his physical activity. Well...there go my companions. In order for us to teach at least some of the people we marked with appointments, it was necessary for me to call a ward member to do divisions. I called good ol' reliable Boby and he came to the rescue and helped last Saturday and Sunday. However...out of nowhere on Sunday, he faints on me and falls to the ground like a dead man for half an hour. It was crazy!!! That essentially ended the week besides a last minute effort by Elder Reis and me to do some street contacts Sunday evening.

In better news...in the midst of all the chaos, we were able to mark baptismal dates for four people, which is always exciting especially for Flores. We have been working lately with the family of a returned missionary, Guillierme, to help them get back in the swing of things. All but his father are members, but they have grown pretty inactive over the years. It looks like this Sunday they will be back...at least some of them.

This week there will be two baptisms, one on Saturday (Marcilene) and the other on Sunday (Cleiciane). One of them is from a street contact made a few months ago (they actually do pay off) and the other is a result of asking, "Who else?" and marking appointments with the new faces you see on Sunday (just so happens to be the sister of a member).

Our ward in Flores has flaked out on us the past few weeks with respect to providing lunch. I don't remember if it was this week or the last, but 4 out of the 7 days lunch fell through. This week we received money twice for lunch and it ended up being pretty nice. There is a place nearby that sells chow mien (the noodle, vegetable, and meat dish) for $5.00 USD. It is a nice change from the usual rice, beans, and chicken.

P-day was pretty cool. For the first time in just about forever, we left staff to go out and do something. We decided with all the hype Ponta Negra (home of the famous Tropical Hotel) was the place to go. At eight in the morning, we got dressed and hopped in the car to go to Ponta Negra. It was a cool drive. Once we got there, I felt as if I was at the beach, but it's just not the same. The water is brown, the sand is filthy, and if you look hard enough, you can see land on the other side (Iranduba). After a stroll on the beach, we headed over to the Tropical Hotel to check it out. I'm not going to lie, it's pretty legit. We had the chance to talk to one of the Cessna pilots that takes people on aerial tours of the Amazon (70 min $350 USD). We also checked out the hotel's zoo, which included several monkeys, birds, a jaguar, and other stuff. There were several Americans there and I enjoyed listening to them try to communicate with the hotel personnel. On both sides, the speech was less than perfect, but it made for a funny experience. In a few of the pictures, you can see a bridge off in the distance being constructed. Just to give you an idea of the progress, they started the bridge when I arrived in Compensa last year.

That's all I've got for this week. This transfer is passing ridiculously fast. After this week, I only have 2 more weeks and I'm out of the escritório. Tchauzão para todos.

Abraço,
Elder Taylor Mackay

Family and Friends at Ana Vitória Cooper de Oliveira's Baptism

From Taylor Mission Pics

Ana Gets a Hug from Her Primary President, Gisele Mesquita de Oliveira

From Taylor Mission Pics

Ana Dos Santos Leite Glória at Her Baptism with Family and Friends

From Taylor Mission Pics

The Three Amigos: Elders Reis, Murray, and Mackay with Ana on Her Big Day

From Taylor Mission Pics

Ana Surround by Family and Friends

From Taylor Mission Pics

Happy 8th Birthday, Ana!

From Taylor Mission Pics

Os Guerreiros

It was a pretty good week with regards to just about everything. We were able to hit the majority of our goals we set and managed to hit the 25 contacts for the week. One unfortunate thing was that Anderson's highly anticipated baptism didn't end up happening due to several factors. Fortunately in about 4 days, the party season here in Manaus is going to end and maybe it will make it a little bit easier for him to focus on what matters most. Nonetheless, his new date is marked for some time in November once he can prove himself ready. On the other hand, we were able to expand the ward by two more new members. They were both daughters of members and just turned 8 years old. Why did we teach them you might ask? Well...if we didn't, nobody would. So in addition to our normal missionary work, we had to pick up the slack of the ward. On Sunday, we had the baptism of Ana Vitória Cooper de Oliveira and she was confirmed immediately after by the Bishop. Then last night, Wednesday, was the baptism (and birthday) of Ana Dos Santos Leite Glória. It was a very nice service. Boby left a really good message and we sang a special hymn, "Careço de Jesus," for those in attendance. It is great to see what was once an inactive family come back 110% to get on the right path and bring others along with them.

One thing that is really cool is Maria Gessy, who was baptized a few months ago, is making a lot of visits to non-member women, which is helping expand the missionary work. Another milestone that occurred this week was Erika and Wellington marked a date for their wedding (the third week in January) and have finished paying off their debts, which were impeding them from saving up a wedding fund. Wellington was one of those people who was prepared to hear us. As a matter of fact, we were doing contacts and he walked up to us and asked how he could learn more about the Church. The funny thing was that 2 minutes before we had just hit our mission goal for the week, so it was like a little blessing for doing what we're supposed to.

The Festa do Boi is building up until tomorrow night, which is the anniversary of Manaus... 340 ANOS! That's a long time. Sometimes when I walk in the streets, I wonder...what would Manaus have been like 340 years ago? Rubber trees...Indians...massive jungle warfare...man-fish? Needless to say, it must have been a lot different.

We had 11 investigators at church, which is always a good sign. Several of them are brand-new and we will continue teaching them this week. Tomorrow Elder Reis will complete his first year on the mission, so we'll have a party or something to commemorate. That's it for the week.

Até mais,
Elder Mackay

The Wedding of Jusse Maria and Heraldo in Lagôa Verde

From Taylor Mission Pics

Just One of the Family on the Couple's Big Day

From Taylor Mission Pics

The Baptism of Gabriel Martins Nery de Araújo

From Taylor Mission Pics

Elder Mackay in a Traditional Samba Costume

From Taylor Mission Pics

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

From Taylor Mission Pics

Festatime with the Familia Leite

From Taylor Mission Pics

Having Fun at Boi Manaus '09

From Taylor Mission Pics

Clowning Around at Boi Manaus

From Taylor Mission Pics

Tight Squeeze

From Taylor Mission Pics

When in Amazonas...

Hello Family and Friends,

The financial training continues to go well. It's kind of nice knowing before hand when you are going to leave an area, so you don't have that immediate shock from a phone call saying to pack your bags. Fortunately, we have managed to juggle our investigators pretty well in the mix of transfers and the Zone Leader Conference that took place this week. Several people are progressing and really becoming quite excited about church, baptism, and life changes.

The other day when we were walking in the street looking for a reference, we made quite a few contacts in a matter of a few hours and ended up meeting a girl named Hamayana from Parintins. We marked for another day to teach her, not thinking too much of it, and she ended up being one of those people that you find at just the right time who is searching for the truth.

A lot of cool things happened this week. I will begin with the events of Saturday. We received special permission from the assistants to go to the wedding of Jusse Maria and Heraldo in Lagôa Verde. I don't know if you remember Anna Karolina, I think she was the last baptism we had when Elder Guerrette was still here. Well, it was the wedding of her mom and step-father. I remember we used to talk to Jusse Maria about the church and it came to a point that all that was missing (keeping her from baptism) was for her to get married. The other day we were walking down a street in Bairro da União and she was at the bus stop waiting for a ride to take her home from visiting her sisters and daughter. We walked over to her and talked about life and whatnot. Out of nowhere, she invited us to her wedding. At a later time, her sisters, Silvia and Juliana, also invited us to the wedding, so we took it as a "for real" situation and went. It was super cool and they were thankful to have us present. The very next day, on the 11th of October, they were both baptized.

Also on Sunday the 11th was the baptism of Gabriel Martins Nery de Araújo, the brother of Paulino who has only been back from his mission about 3 weeks. With Paulino's help, we have been teaching Gabriel and his mom and he was the first to make all the necessary changes. It was nice to see his brother baptize him. It's a rare occasion when you get to see a ward member or family member perform the ordinance.

So, the party continues here in Alvorada with the Boi Manaus. This week we decided to partake in the food, not the dancing, that occurs before the actual "festa." It reminded me a lot of the farmers' markets in Brea and San Luis Obispo. The food was good and it was a welcomed opportunity to sit down and enjoy the culture and surroundings. We even ran into a few ward members that were trying to take advantage of the once a year festivities. There is one family in the area who really stands out from the others in regards to help, friendship, and hospitality and that is the familia Leite. Being that I'm on my way out of the area, I invited them to dinner with the missionaries at a little street vendor. It was nice to be able to give back to the family who helps out so much. We actually had lunch at their house today and it sounds like they had an awesome time at the festival. This news made my day since they have endured many trials. It was great they finally had a chance to just be free and have fun.

I hope the attached pictures explain themselves. As for the jaguar outfit, it is Boby's, so I decided to take some pictures with it. It's an example of clothing they would wear at a samba or an indigenous dance get-together. The area is going strong and I think the ward is picking up the pace with the missionary work.

Abraço,
Elder Taylor Mackay

Oh Boi (10/8/09)

Hello, this is Elder Mackay once again reporting for duty. This week was a little crazy, but I think I've made it and am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am officially training Elder Murray to be the next Financial Secretary of Missão Brasil Manaus. FYI he is from Minnesota...that's a first, right? So, just to get my companions straight...I've had one from New York, Brazil, Utah, Idaho, Maine, and Minnesota. Contrary to popular belief, I have no doubt that Flores will be his most memorable area for very good reasons. Life in the office has more to it than meets the eye...trust me. Every day you fight mini financial battles that are electronically lost or won. If you're me, you always win, but let's not fool ourselves; there is only one Elder Mackay.

General Conference was really good. I watched all 10 hours of it. There were certainly a lot of good talks. I don't know if I was just a slacker in past years and didn't pay attention, but this past conference was legitimately put together. We were able to have a total of 9 people present to watch conference, many of which stayed for several sessions.

Right now there is a huge party going on that will last for a few weeks in the Sambódromo (Samba Stadium) called Boi Manaus. Here in Amazonas, the bull is almost worshiped (I think it comes from indigenous culture) and at this party there are various dancing groups that dance the "boi," a type of dance which looks like a ritual to call in the rain or sun. In a few more days, I'll have all the music memorized since it blasts through our windows until midnight.

It's always funny the day after all the new missionaries arrive, because when I give my presentation, I have to speak in English, which to be honest is a little hard (just the manner of mental processing and putting the words together to form a sentence). As a result, I'm a little mixed up today with the language and I have to catch myself from slipping in an English word every once in a while when talking to the Brazilians.

One cool thing that happened when all the noobs arrived in the Mission Office was that one of them came up to me and asked, "Are you Elder Mackay?" Pointing at my name tag, I said, "Why, yes...I am." He then said, "I have a message for you...Hodges says, 'hi,' and sends you a beijo." What do you know...there is life on the other side. It just so happens that this elder was visiting his aunt's ward and Elder Hodges was there and found out he was going to Manaus and sent the 2 month delayed message. I've got to hand it to the kid for remembering.

This Sunday, we have a baptism planned for Gabriel, the brother of Paulino who just returned from his mission. We have been working pretty hard with the family and it's paying off thanks to his huge help. The other people we are teaching and who are progressing are: Flávia, Karla, Alexandre, Anderson, Ana Leite, Ana Vitória, Tatiana, Adriana, Wellington, Erika, and Marcilene. Wish us luck.

I would like to wish a Happy Birthday to Grandpa Mackay...make it a great year! I'll give you the gift of my presence sometime after the 8th of June (haha).

Abreijo,
Elder Taylor Mackay

(I just made up that word...abreijo is a kiss and a hug together)

Andrews and Friends at His Baptism

From Taylor Mission Pics

The Baptism of Andrews da Silva Bezerra

From Taylor Mission Pics