Pink-Washing in Thompson's Station, Utah?

Life is full of surprises! Last week I wrote that I would be staying in Franklin and training a new sister, and Sister Tauoa would be white washing (or what we call "pink" washing, when Sisters replace Elders) Thompson's Station, TN. Sister Tauoa had gotten up early the morning of transfers to finish packing and I was enjoying every last minute of sleep until 6:30am. I woke up at 6:22am to the Assistants on the phone saying, "Sister Nordström, pack your bags! You're going to Thompson's Station!" In the middle of the night, President McKee had received revelation that Sister Tauoa and I were to switch places!! I am so grateful to him for being humble enough to listen to the promptings of the Spirit and change plans. But I literally had two hours to pack everything and get dressed and ready for transfer meeting. Somehow it worked out and I am doing the thing that terrifies me most, white-washing and area AND training! 

So, now I am in Thompson's Station, TN, which is directly south of Franklin. Thompson's Station is a random town bursting at the seams with residential communities. It is a very new area; the oldest house was built in 1999. And there are members everywhere. It is like a mini-Utah. 

A brand new meetinghouse was just built a little over a year ago and the two wards that meet there are already overflowing. There are about 120 primary children in the Thompson's Station Ward, two deacons quorums, etc. The members are SO excited to have sisters. There have been some tears shed and many, many hugs. T-Station has never had sisters, and as much as the ward respected the Elders, they have been praying and praying for a change. Sister Vercillo and I are celebrities. The members are willing to do anything for us, including donating various cleaning supplies as we tackle an apartment that has housed stinky, dirty, (and wonderful) Elders for the last 6 years. Our apartment needs a whole bunch of TLC.

Speaking of celebrities, T-Station is the home of the famous Cyrus family (we met some YSAs last night who went to school with Miley, and Billy Ray lives a few miles away from us), Jason Aldean, and a few others. Julianne and Derrick Hough's sisters are in our ward, but I probably shouldn't spread that info around.

Sister Taylor Vercillo: my adorable, gorgeous new companion! She is from Centerville, UT. She just turned 19 last month! She reported to the MTC 5 weeks after she got her call and is still in shock about the fact that she is on a mission. Sister Vercillo is softening hearts left and right with her smile and her kindness. I LOVE my companion! We are going to work miracles in this area (and the apartment)!

We didn't even arrive in our area until Wednesday afternoon because we had an interfaith choir performance in Elkton, KY. That was an incredible start to Sister Vercillo's mission. There were five+ different denominations gathered at a Methodist church in a Christian Unity Night. We each sang songs that represented our faith. Our choir director, Sister Rhoades, gave me the privilege and honor of introducing our choir and explaining why we chose our music. YES! I, Sister Nordstrom, stated our missionary purpose ("Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the Restored Gospel...) and bore testimony about the resurrected Savior in front of a congregation of many different faiths! It was so invigorating and definitely a favorite mission memory. 

And our choir! Wow. It is hard to be in singing groups once you've sung with BYU Concert Choir, and I had a hard time at the rehearsals feeling the music when we weren't perfect pitch, with perfect cutoffs and perfect vowels and perfect intonation. Concert Choir spoiled me! But when we performed, I am certain that angels sang with us. We sounded incredible, and the testimonies of 20 young missionaries filled the sanctuary. 

Can you believe that it's been ONE YEAR? When people ask me how long I've been out, I still stammer and feel confused. It can't already have been a year! I never thought I'd be one of those missionaries that people would say to me, "Wow, you've only got 6 months left." I glower at them a little when they say that! This time truly does fly by, and I feel like I have SO MUCH to learn still! I will probably figure out how to be a perfect missionary the day I go home. 

When life gives you ice (storms), make ice cream! The weather here has been randomly warm and randomly cold. I would rather the freezing single-digit winter in Utah than the humid cold here. Make this an awesome week! I'm off to Pinkify this place!

Love,

Sister Nordstrom

Strengthening Roots

Hey Mom (and Family)! Guess what? I cut my own hair! I have been waiting for 8 months to get a haircut, and every time we get an appointment set up it falls through! So Tuesday during my dinner break, I went into the bathroom and just cut it myself! I am so stubborn and impatient sometimes ;) But I'm really pleased with how it turned out! I only trimmed 2-3 inches, but it was getting so long (I measured about 25"!! That's over TWO feet!!!) so I just did it myself.

Courtney was baptized and confirmed! It was one of the most spiritual baptismal services of my mission. The talks and music were incredible. The actual ordinance went perfectly--Courtney looked beautiful in white. Courtney has such a special, sweet spirit about her, and you cannot possibly be unhappy around her. The confirmation in Sacrament meeting yesterday was even more beautiful. Bishop Nabrotzky confirmed her and gave her a very powerful blessing. Courtney's special spirit was especially welcomed yesterday at church as we had a bit of a chaotic moment. 

We were all chuckling in Relief Society to be singing, "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today" while it lightning'd and thundered outside. But as soon as the opening prayer finished we received an alert that a tornado had touched down on the interstate not too far south from us! Have you ever been in a real-life tornado drill with an entire congregation?! Luckily we were the last ward at the building so we didn't have to deal with the other two Franklin wards. There was a lot of confusion over where exactly was the safest place to go. History of meetinghouses determined that the central chapel and gym were actually the least stable. So we ended up lining all the hallways and staying away from doors. The nursery leaders had all the little ones in the bathrooms singing hymns, haha. The warning passed right as church was about to get out so we didn't have to stay too long. YES I was a little bit scared! It's second nature to do something for an earthquake or wildfire, but we Cali girls don't know nuttin' 'bout tornados! The weather was eerily warm this weekend; we enjoyed 70 degrees for a couple days, and then it dropped rapidly, which is what caused the tornado. It is now 30 degrees, less than 24 hours later.

This all reminded me of a dream I have been having a lot lately. I keep dreaming about very large trees suddenly tumbling over, and I'm trying to run and get away so I don't get hit by them. Yesterday someone actually bore testimony about an experience with seeing trees toppled over, though not in a dream, and he learned that it was because of weak roots. Is my subconscious telling me something about roots? How are the roots of my testimony? Could they be stronger? How about the roots of those I am teaching? It is not enough to constantly "water" them with knowledge if they are not building a strong foundation in the Savior, Jesus Christ. Please continue to pray for our other friends preparing for baptism. Satan has been working very hard on them and it is a daily combat against him.

I thought this was appropriate with the title of my blog, "From Roots to Wings." This week I will definitely be making sure I continue to nourish the roots and not just the "foliage" of my faith and help others strengthen theirs.

New Year Miracles

Sister Tauoa and I have caught on FIRE and it's contagious! We set four more dates this week, with a total of five people getting baptized this month! Courtney is getting baptized Saturday and she absolutely glows. I love her so much! Sister Tauoa and Sister Oldham set a date with Jacquelyn at the second lesson while I was at ZLC (YES I got to go again! It was incredible!!). Then Sister Tauoa and I set 3 dates with the Hardeman family: Melissa and her two sons Elijah and Cornelius. The Franklin Zone is also on fire; we have a companionship that set 11 dates this week. There are 17 dates in our zone just for January!! 2013 is going to be a "baptastic" year!! There are so many incredible people prepared for the Gospel.

Yesterday Sister T and I went to a Church of Christ. I was honestly nervous; there are is definitely some anti sentiment towards Latter-day Saints. We met this wonderful lady named Christa a month ago and she invited us to meet her there. We got the times mixed up and caught the tail end of the sermon, but we got to stay for Bible study. The people were SO welcoming and friendly! I felt so welcomed to be there. We are so happy to build relationships with these marvelous Christians. I learned a lot about Paul as we studied 2 Corinthians 7. The Holy Ghost testifies of truth, and I could still feel the Spirit whenever the preacher spoke truth. There are many people with the light of Christ that are SO close to the truth but they know not where to find it. We need to bring them baptism and the GIFT of the Holy Ghost.

Please pray for those in Franklin preparing for baptism by name and pray for who you can bring the Gospel to, member or missionary. This has been my soundtrack this morning. 

Well, I am on my way to an Interfaith choir rehearsal in Nashville. Have a wonderful week! Go and do something today!!!

Love y'all,
Sister Nordstrom