Hermana Taylor: That One Time NYC Turned Into a Umbrella Cemetery

Hey everyone!

Okay not gonna lie, this past week was insane. From witnessing one of the coolest priesthood blessings I have ever had the chance to be present for, to surviving two gigantic storms, zone conference, literally handing out so many Book of Mormons that we ran out of them, painting a members entire apartment, eating a black and white cookie, and contacting 9 people on the bus at the same time, you could say that I have been just a little busy. But wow, I love being a missionary here in New York City!

So this past week, one of our investigators, Ana J, had a stroke and was in the hospital all week. Ana really wants her kids to have a strong knowledge and belief in God but she doesn't think that the message that we share is for her. Here's where it gets cool. So this family didn't show up to church on Sunday (which was totally not like them) so we called the mom, Ana, to see what had happened. Her husband picks up the phone and tells us that everyone is fine besides the fact that Ana had a stroke that morning and was rushed in a ambulance to the hospital. Um what?!! (Btw she is young and in her early 40s so we were really surprised) Since the Mom's cell phone number was the only way of contacting her, we had to wait a few days until Ana was well enough to text. We asked her how she was doing and asked her if she would like a Priesthood Blessing. Miracle numero uno: She actually agreed and was all for it! Milagro numero dos: After calling pretty much every priesthood holder in the ward, we were able to get members over to the hospital with us to give her a priesthood blessing. Milagro numero tres: Apparently she had been out of it that entire day but when we showed up to the hospital, she was awake and alert enough for Sister Leon and I to explain what a priesthood blessing is, bear our testimonies on them, and then to receive the priesthood blessing. Almost as soon as the last words were said, she was out of it again. Milagro numero 4: We went out into the sitting room to see her family and the youngest girls (they're twins btw) came up to us and were livid. They were all "you didn't come over yesterday and teach us about Jesus Christ. We need you to teach us about Jesus Christ." Okay, they are 8 years old. Hermana Leon and I quickly repented, set a date to come over the next day, shared quick testimony about the atonement and then ran to the subway. Fun fact, the hospital that Ana was in was technically out of our area so we had to get special permission to be there in the first place. So as we are rushing out of the hospital, desperately trying to get home on time, and here 5 ladies go "Oooooh SISTERSSSSSS". Hahahha Hermana Leon turns to me and whispers "How much do you want to bet that they are from Utah?" And of course, all 5 of them were. They were super nice though and it was good to see some members. Long story short, Ana is out of the hospital and doing much better. :)

Storms here in New York are so weird. They always seem to come out of nowhere. Like for example today. We went to Costco to get some food and when we went in it was super nice outside and then when we walked out, there was no kidding one of the worst blizzards raging on that my little Utah girl eyes have ever seen. Aside from feeling like a drowned rat in my sleeping bag of a winter coat, the only casualty was that my supposedly unbreakable umbrella, broke. But it turns out that basically everyone lost a umbrella last Friday. Almost every trash can that we saw had about 8 broken umbrellas in them. RIP.

Yesterday was basically one of my most favorite days of my entire life. So here in the NYNYN mission we have what we call a "New York Minute". Basically the point is that we want to be able to share a quick message about Jesus Christ in one minute or less since New Yorkers are usually in a rush and have zero time. Yesterday I was on a split with Hermana Egbert and she really wanted us to share New York Minutes as much as possible. I agreed and prepped a NY minute for our bus ride to and from District Meeting later that morning. On our way there we tried to do a NYM and... basically I have never seen such a hardcore fail in my life. After District Meeting while we were on our way back to our apartment for lunch, Hermana Egbert was all "you ready for some NYM action" and I was all "uggh please no, but okay". We got onto this bus, I sat down and started talking immediately to the guy on my right. I asked him where he was headed and oh-my-lanta. So I thought that he said that he worked at the Homeless Shelter and that's why he was headed there so I was all "No way, that is so cool!" and it turns out... nope. He actually is homeless and that is his home. The people that were sitting around us all turned and looked at me and basically were laughing at my dorkiness and then a lady saw my name tag and asked "Wait, are you two church people?" As soon as the words "Yes, we are Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" left our mouths, everyone that was sitting right there were asking us questions left and right like what is a Mormon, what is the book that your church has, are you guys a cult. We ended up getting 3 cellphone numbers and names, handing out 4 Book of Mormons, so many pass along cards and inviting so many people to church. Moral of the story? Heavenly Father will use all of our talents, including my talent for being a dork, to accomplish his work. These people were literally so desperate for the gospel, it was amazing.

WOW. I am sorry that this turned into a novel! I just want you guys to know that we are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives. So many people that I met this week had literally no idea that they could see their dead family members again or that there was any hope for them. Never be afraid to share the gospel and stand out. Us missionaries need all the help we can get when it comes to sharing the gospel :)

I love you all! Stay safe and enjoy march madness for me!

Con Amor,

Hermana Taylor :)

-Hermana Leon (her companion) and Hermana Taylor painting a members apartment