Hurrah for Israel!

So I guess I became the first female assistant to the President--kind of! I was called to be the new Facebook assistant, who is the person in charge of all the online proselyting. I approve missionaries, train them, conduct conference calls, report numbers to Salt Lake, and a multitude of other things. It's by no means a glamorous job but it's great to know the Lord trusts me with such a heavy responsibility.

I got to hear from Sister McKee twice this week--first at our Zone Conference Tuesday. For the first time in months she stood and trained us and bore her testimony to us. This may be the greatest miracle I have ever seen in my life. So many lives have been blessed by her example and we are so happy to have her back. We trained a lot on using the Book of Mormon to answer questions and on committing those we teach to act. After ZC we and the Franklin sisters exchanged for a day for some training.

Sister Vercillo and I have been spending a lot more time tracting because we are so anxious to find people to teach. One night we went out even though it had been pouring rain all day and was really cold. We drove to the neighborhood we planned to tract, parked, and prayed; and by the time we said, "Amen," the rain suddenly slowed to a light sprinkle! It was incredible. I know that Heavenly Father was mindful of us and wanted to keep His daughters dry, even if we didn't have much success that hour. :)

Saturday I had the privilege of shaking hands with an apostle for the second time on my mission. Elder Dallin H. Oaks came and trained us for an hour and a half. He talked about using our time wisely (See PMG p.152--he personally gave us the quote about our line in the water!). He taught us about how to be an effective instrument in the hands of the Lord. He expounded on the phrase, "Only True Church" that we use to describe ourselves, what distinguishes us as Latter-day Saints, and why those differences are so important. I love how he emphasized that we are NOT the only church with truth. There is plenty of truth in every denomination and person. But we have:

1) The Fulness of the Doctrine of Christ

2) The Power of the Priesthood--the ONLY authority that can perform ordinances recognized after death

3) A unique testimony of Jesus Christ by the GIFT of the Holy Ghost.

What is fascinating is how different the apostles' personalities are. I've met three in my lifetime, and they are all SO different from each other! Yet they are still men called of God and they hold all the keys of the Priesthood.

Yup, it's transfer time. My dear sweet "daughter" is going to Bowling Green, KY to serve with a sister she came out with (so basically, they will finish training themselves). 18 sisters and 7 elders are flying into Tennessee today, and I will be training a greenie here in Thompson's Station. I can't believe how much the missionary work is growing here. Things will never be the same again. Elder Nelson said recently that this change will impact EVERY facet of the Church. The Gathering of Israel is happening! Hurrah for Israel!

Love,
Sister Nordström

My little sister/daughter

Our exchange with the Franklin sisters

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