Best Flag EVER

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Monday, January 6, 2014

Many are called, but few are FROZEN!!!!

MANY ARE CALLED BUT FEW ARE FROZEN!!!!!!                                                   Jan. 6th, 2014

Unfortunately I'm one of those few, what an adventure; you have not experienced winter till you've been to Newfoundland. It’s been a great and dreadful week.
So I have to combine my letter to everyone this week because of the random power outages and we never know when it’s going to go out again and for how long. There were 2 huge power plants one caught on fire and the other one blew up, more than half the island has no power, our apartment is one of them. The power will come on for about 5 min then go out for another 12-24 hours good thing we are never home. People panic! the grocery stores were packed there was not a drop of drinkable water left in any store, the gas stations were backed up miles long, we've had many candle light/ flashlight appointments. It has truly been a winter I will never forget, and it’s only the beginning!
Monday December 30th
What a great day! Boxing Day shopping I found 2 skirts for less than 12 dollars each! And no shirts that never happens! We taught one of our investigators, Chantelle, her first lesson on the restoration and she is getting baptized on February 22nd, we are so excited and we are continuing to teach her and she is progressing so much, she has a very short attention span so we've been doing as many object lessons as possible ha-ha its not that easy, but so worth it! She has many cool experiences that bring her closer to Christ. One experience she had was just last week, she gets really bad headaches and she was having one and nothing was taking it away, so she knelt down and started praying and she said her headache went away and she was over come by the spirit and just knew that someone was there comforting her, she constantly feels the presence of god and angels in her life. She has come along way in just a few weeks. We also taught Sherry and Brian I LOVE THEM!! We also taught them the restoration, the spirit was so strong and they have 7 kids who most of them are really interested. They are definitely kingdom builders!
Tuesday.
NEW YEARS EVE!!!!  
What a complete change around from last year. Last year I was questioning everything and this year I'm serving the Lord. WAHOOO!
New investigator, his name is Paul Muyanga, he was a former investigator from a few years ago, and his nieces are members of our branch and just the greatest! We took dinner over to the Larsen’s who just had a baby on Christmas day (poor child). We then went back to the Muyangas and had dinner (you don't want to know what I ate) and that's when we taught Paul. I also had my first Skype interview with President Leavitt. What a great man! He loves the work and he puts every effort into it. He told me I'm doing really well and I'm the only positive new missionary he’s had in awhile. I feel bad for the other Sister’s I came out with like Sister Jarvis, she isn't doing to well, but she will be great and do great things. He also told me I'm very mature and I'm one of those missionaries who came out trained and ready to work. We have been having lots of success and I'm adjusting very well! Life is good! Fireworks here are nuts you can buy them any where and every where and any age can buy them. Newfoundland is crazy!
Wednesday
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Guess what my first meal of the New Year was? McDonalds!!! 2 plain cheeseburgers, fries and a hot chocolate. (Out here you seriously have to have hot chocolate at every meal or you'll freeze) and then we had dinner at the Reids a less active and active home. It’s an interesting situation I don't know a whole lot about, but it was great. We had jigs dinner which is cabbage, turnip, carrots, potatoes’ then some sort of meat. In this case we had turkey salted ribs and roast and of course gravy, it was very good... well most of it. Ha-ha we also made plans to do a 3 day exchange to C.B.S. (Conception Bay South) to see if the sisters would be more effective. It is gorgeous out there; it’s well obviously a bay, so it’s right by the ocean. So expect some pictures!! I'm excited to go to CBS I'll be doing lots of knocking, but that’s okay, it’s not as bad when it’s some what warm out.
Thursday
I SAW MY FIRST RAT! HOW NASTY!!! We went to contact a former named Paul Noftle and there was a rat running around. I didn't know what to do or how to react. so we have been having come crazy says and because there is apparently not enough power they will shut parts of the city down so we would randomly have no power so when we were teaching Chantelle we had power and before we knew it we were teaching by flashlight. All say our power was in and out and it was very cold in our apartment the windy was so cold it is so bone chilling. After we taught Chantelle we taught Brian and Sherry and their family, they are progressing so much and so fast! Sherry asked me a question at the end and she said "if I were to get baptized or come to church would I be accepted even though I've already been baptized into another church?" I turned to her and said "we are all gods children he loves us all the same, you will be accepted the same and if not more than someone being baptized at 8. God is rejoicing as we all should be" I'm going to put her on date soon. She also said she wants to know more about Joseph Smith. 
So its official Sister Turner and I are going to C.B.S. mon-wed (so today)
Last night Sister Turner and I went to see a referral and turns out she was in the "nun" hospital. So we decided to go visit her. 1st she was at Saint Claries Hospital which is run down and ran by nuns and is very old. 2nd she told us her entire life story she’s been in and out of jail her whole life and just got out 2 months ago, was homeless for 3 years and a  drug addict etc. I felt so bad for her and kind of scared. (Lot’s of people here will just up and tell you their whole life story right there on the street) none of that matters because she is here now and ready to learn and I'm excited to teach her more!
Friday.
Every one is going crazy! Grocery stores are packed full of people getting ready for the storm coming later. We had no power while weekly planning, that was an adventure, also as soon as we finished planning the Mount Pearl Elders called us and told us that we were going to C.B.S. on Monday instead of Wednesday we were quite upset because we just spent 3 hours planning out the coming week and then everything got changed on us, and of course the person I am some times things come out of my mouth before I can stop it I say, "is that true revelation, cuz its making everyone very upset", but of course we took our problem and found a way to solve it with as much charity as possible. The Mount Pearl Elders drive us nuts but we love them!! They also didn't tell C.B.S about the change so they were upset as well. So because there was a storm today we were told to stay inside, so we cleaned our apartment, its spotless, just for the C.B.S. Elders, they are clean freaks!
So lucky me, since the day I got here it hasn't stopped snowing, we've gotten another 4 feet of snow from the storm we just had. Apparently this is worse than the 2001 storm they had, and I get to be apart of it! What a promised land!
Saturday.
SOMEONE PLEASE STOP SHAKING THE SNOW GLOBE WE ARE IN!!!!! And dial down the wind. What a brutal day. We were again told not to leave our apartments, but Sister Turner and I were going stir crazy, we were so bored and had no food or power, so we didn't listen and left. We bundled up and went shoveling. We shoveled out a few of the members close by, and then went to the Reids for lunch and to warm up. My face turned into one big icicle, I had them hanging form my eyelashes and nose. It was cold, and we had no power all day, what a great day!!
Sunday.
Church was cancelled, so we set up appointments and we went out to a small town called Torbay to contact some referrals and we had a dinner appointment with one of the members out in Flat Rock. Sister Hollett and her husband, they are converts and joined the church just a few years back. They are amazing member missionaries! Then we went back to St. John’s and taught Brian and Sherry again, we watched the restoration video and then read from the Book of Mormon, and invited her to be baptized and she said she would think about it a bit more, but most likely ha-ha they are just great we love them so much. I love St.John’s, Newfieland it just keeps getting better and better!!!
It’s been a fun and interesting week! I hope ya'll are having a great winter and a happy new year!!

All my love Sister Taylor