The first picture of Elder Heinzlmeir!

It just so happens, that friends of ours (retired) entered the MTC the same time as Taylor to prepare for their mission in the Republic of Georgia.  Kim happened to run into Taylor along the way...his first official day at the MTC and took this beautiful picture of him for me.  I received it today and just had to get it up on the blog for all to see his beautiful smile!  She said he is so happy and well fed and all that good stuff.  What a relief to see his happy face...

Thank-you Kim!

FINALLY! Taylor's first email home...enjoy!

The MTC is great! i'm doing really well! I'm learning so much! My companion Elder Lewis is awesome and we get along great! He is serving in Sydney!!! I met an elder the generation ahead of us going to Montreal! He is cool, I bet we will be companions. I got called to be District Leader on Thursday, our district is awesome! We have 8 Elders and 3 Sisters. It's so much fun. Most of us play volleball during gym, and we continue to grow more unified everyday! I love everyone so much!

I have been learning so much! Obviously lots of mandarin. It's crazy! Our teacher only speaks in mandarin and I can already pray and bear my testimony. Elder Lewis and I have taught two lessons already and one lasted an hour! ALL IN MANDARIN! It's a lot of fun and hard work, we are sure kept busy, especially as District Leader, I have some extra assignments and meetings to go to, but I love it.

My branch President knows Ben and I told him Mark was here and he wants to meet him! Today is Marks P-day too so I saw him at laundry.

     I also saw my friend Spencer who is going to Bulgaria, I think he left today though.

     I've adjusted to the schedule well enough, it helps that the Lord is on our side. I can totally feel the Spirit every where and reading my scriptures is such a cool experience because I learn so much more with the new focus.

Most of the missionaries in my district are going to the Taiwan Taipei Mission.

    Thank you and everyone for sending me DearElder letters, it's great getting those throughout the week, even if I can only write on P-days.

It's weird looking down and seeing a tag with my name, and then "The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" in Mandarin characters underneath. Sometimes I just stop and say "I'm a missionary!" Very cool. I can't wait to keep learning and growing! I have a long way to go but I know I'll get there. It's amazing to see all the missionaries here, all the people that want to share their happiness and the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others!

Love Han Zhanglao (Elder Heinzlmeir)

Little companions.

This morning while getting ready for church, Reggie asked if he could take a Book of Mormon with him and Jimmy as well.  Reggie said that he wanted to wear just his white shirt and tie and be missionaries like Taylor and the Elders (we have a couple great guys serving in our area that are great examples!).  He told me that he knows the Book of Mormon teaches of Jesus Christ.  

I couldn't resist taking their picture so Taylor can see what a great example he is to his little brothers!

How can this all happen so quickly???

Today Taylor left for Utah bright and early.  A bunch of his biggest fans were there to send him off...and we tried to keep it together...but, you know...we're gonna miss him so much.  I was thinking over the past couple of weeks how time has just gone by so quickly....


From this...

to this...

Now let's hope the next 2 years go by quickly too~

Well, Taylor has been pretty neglectful of his blog...but now this site will see some action as I (his Momma) will be posting letters he sends from his Mission and pictures too!  So check-in often to see how's he's doing.  We're going to miss him so much...physically...but at least we'll still be able to communicate weekly so that's the goal...weekly updates for all to see.

Here's his address from August 15th until sometime in October, which of course will be posted when the time comes (the new address in Quebec).

Elder Taylor Jordan Heinzlmeir
MTC Mailbox # 98
CAN-MON 1030
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

If you go to dearelder.com, and then click on the "Write a Letter" tab and choose the drop-down tab and hit Provo and then type in the CAN-MON 1030 for his Mission code and Box 98 for the Mailbox number.  This system is an email message delivery system for the Elders while they are at the MTC...and in his case about 3 months as he learns to speak Mandarin and all the other good stuff he needs to know.


He hopes to hear from everyone as often as possible to keep those 'home' connections going.  Thanks ahead of time to all of you who care and have taken the time to check-in with T...'er, I mean Elder Heinzlmeir, as he is officially, official now.

Lewis made Taylor a concoction of treats as a farewell gesture with candles..with random numbers...lol

And, yes, I made that goofy face on purpose...kind of "boo hoo I'm gonna miss my boy" look...

Taylor saying farewell to a copule of our favourite guys...Elder Willmott (from Ontario--going home in a couple weeks!) and Elder Atkinson from Utah!  Love all these great men!