Week 50

Hello, hello!

How are you all doing? Did you have a good week? Anything new and exciting going on? How is the weather there? Still warm? :) How is the ward and the neighborhood? I miss you guys... every night before I go to sleep, I blow a kiss to the family picture. I can't sleep without that little ritual! Ha ha! I love you tons and tons!

This week has been one of many miracles! I am overwhelmed with gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the way things have worked out this week. I will list a few:

1. Julianne - She is a girl I found a few days before Easter, when the city was absolutely dead. It was a very quick contact because she had to get to her bus, but I got her number and we set up an appointment for Monday. And what an appointment it was!  It was absolutely, positively, 100% AMAZING!!! Not only did she cry because she felt the Spirit so strong, but she set a baptismal date for 3 weeks later, and said a kneeling prayer with us. Now, I know, that probably doesn't sound all that amazing, but THAT NEVER HAPPENS! I had someone cry in a lesson in regards to the Spirit, and I have only said a kneeling prayer with someone once. The Spirit was there and, boy, was he
testifying to this sweet girl! She came to church yesterday and wanted me to take a picture of her at her first day! Who is this girl??? And where did she come from??? She will be getting baptized on the 28 of this month and she is so stinking excited! :) We are too. He he!
2. Agnes - Remember the woman I told you about last week who came to church after we had met her on the street? Well she came again yesterday. She told me that she wasn't so sure about our church last
week, but she had been searching on lds.org for the past few days and gained a totally different outlook on the church! She loves it! She told me yesterday that she felt as though God is guiding her here... I
think so too! She said that she will come back around the first of May. (Next week is a very special occasion- Norway will be getting it's second stake and all of the members and missionaries will be
gathering in Oslo for a country-wide conference with the area 70. Intense!) She is going to get baptized one day. There is this sweet older sister in the branch that has taken special "ownership" of
fellowshipping Agnes when she comes. Her name is Helene and I love watching her show Agnes around- she will drag this woman into the waters of baptism if it is that last thing she does! :) THAT is member missionary work at it's best!
3. Carla - This is an incredible story! A few weeks ago, I was out contacting while my companion was on the other side of the street. I saw this girl in a white coat and felt like I should talk to her, but when I did, she started yelling at me because "mormons don't believe in the Holy Ghost." It was so fast and I didn't even have time to set her strait, so I just forgot about it and moved on. Well, on Thursday,
Sister Butterfield and I had an appointment across town, but when we got there, the people weren't home. So we went to a bench, sat down and prayed for inspiration as to which way we should take to contact back into town. After we prayed, we felt really calm just sitting there... We waited for about a minute when I saw this girl that looked really familiar. I had talked to her before, but I couldn't remember where. I smiled as she crossed the street towards where we were sitting. Then she came up to me and began apologizing for being so hard on me. I was so caught of guard, and then I remembered that it was the girl that had yelled at me on the street! I graciously accepted her apology and she walked away. Wow, she must have felt really bad for all of those weeks between our first meeting. I thought it was so cool and I just felt a lot of peace knowing that I had already forgiven her. :) Well to make this story even cooler, I saw her again on Saturday night. She came up to me again and began telling me exactly what had happened- after she yelled at me on the street, she got onto a bus and when she sat down, she had this overwhelming feeling that I was working for God- that He means everything to me. She prayed to Him that she could find me again. She did. He answered her prayer. As she told me that, I knew that God meant a lot to her too. This girl and I shared a very special moment as we realized that God had lead her to me- a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints- believers in the Holy Ghost. :) It was one of the coolest feelings... I can't even begin to describe it- we are kindred spirits! She took our card with my number on it and we will meet sometime in the future. AMAZING!

Yes. Those were just of few of the miracles we saw this week! Here is a cool little blurp of info- I am going to be on the cover of a magazine!!! Well, we don't know for sure. But we are going to be in the May edition of the city magazine and I could possibly be on the cover! I will send you a copy either way! :)

Well Fam, that's all I've got. I love you tons and tons and can't wait for skype in a few weeks! Have a wonderful week and stand strong! Peace! :)

♥- Søster Jessica Taylor

P.S. Sorry, no time for personal emails this week... I love you all individually though! :) Please tell Jan and John and Fam I say hi! I will reply to them next week. :)