Christmas

 Family! And Friends!

   Well Christmas was delightful! We had a mission conference on Christmas! It was so wonderful! Because our mission is so small it is one of the few missions that can have a Mission Conference! We heard a lot of wonderful things that I wrote down and of course forgot to bring with me.  However, I truly enjoyed Sister Matsumori's comments at mission conference. She talked about temples. One of the things that stood out to me personally was about the stained glass on the Washington D.C. Temple. It starts out in oranges and reds and yellows and as it climbs it changes to greens and blues and violets and then at the very top it is white. Sister Matsumori told us of the symbolism that exists as we enter the temple at ground level (oranges reds and yellows) but as we continue to go to the temple and keep the covenants that we make with the Lord and always strive to keep His commandments we change and are purified. I love it. She also told us a story about a pilot (Yes, Elder Uchtdorf would like this one.) who was flying. When he left it was a clear sky but as he was flying it became overcast, windy, and difficult to see. He was searching for something to help him navigate and he saw the St. George temple. He flew in a triangle (airplane SOS signal) until someone from the airport was able to make radio contact and help him land on the bluff. He got out of his plane and asked, "What is that building?" He was told that it was the temple. How wonderful that our temples can literally be a guiding light to many. I thought a lot about temples. i have loved living by one so close to me. The Logan Temple is so beautiful and it reminds me of what God wants for all of His children. He wants beauty and peace and joy. He wants us to have guidance both temporally and spiritually. :) God is wonderful and He is full of love and goodness. I know that all good things come from God. I am so thankful for the many wonderful good things that He has given to me; especially for my family and for my dear friends. I am also thankful for his guidance and how he directs me toward the best things..... even if sometimes they are hard. I know  with God all things are possible and that it is best to rely on Him. Proverbs 3:5-6

     Also, Toy Story 3 is so church approved. :) We were able to watch it in our theater at the Visitors' Center! Best big screen ever!   It was so fun to watch it as a mission and to laugh together and how truly wonderful to have good clean fun with so many people. What greater joy? We also got a video for Christmas from the AP's - its a DVD from our mission to the Matsumori's but it is so full of the character and love our mission has. :)  So Toy Story 3 is great and I'm glad I got to see it in the theater because I didn't get a chance to at home. God's tender mercies are so apparent in every day of life. It is so funny how much more I notice it now. I would invite everyone who reads this message to truly pay attention to how much God's tender mercies are upon us. It does take a little bit of time but it is worth the time spent. We should never be too busy to notice... which I admit I have been in the past. However, I have seen that when we take time for God and for Jesus Christ and for the Holy Ghost they take time for us. I now imagine them anxiously waiting for an invitation to be a part of our lives and to talk with us. It is wonderful when we take the time to let them in. :) I keep thinking of our old family tradition where we would go to Forgotten Carols and Michael McLean would sing the song "Let Him In" and comparing us to the Inn Keeper. How can we better Let Him in?

   I have loved this Christmas season even though it has been filled with work, teaching, and being busy. It seems like Christmas was just a blip on the screen but the reason for the season has been so much more prominent. I keep thinking about the reason we celebrate Christ's birth is because of His life, His death, and His resurrection. If there was no Easter there would be no Christmas. Christ rose again proving that He was the Son of God and that the bands of Death were broken. The wonderful miracle that we will all be ressurected, and that death is not the end. There is more than just this earthly life... and that is BEAUTIFUL!

   I am so happy for this opportunity to learn more about the Gospel, about missionary work, about the temple, and also about myself. This is truly a growing experience that I know will make me a stronger woman. I know that my Heavenly Father knew that I would need this to make me the best me I can be. I know that He wants that for me and I am glad that I chose to listen, because I already know that this will help not only me but others in my life both now and in the future. I have never been so sure of my Heavenly Father's love for His children as I am now. I want you all to know that God loves you... and so do I.

     God be with you till we meet again,

  Sister Gordon

Hello!

Hello! So sorry! I just have a few short minutes today. :) First I would like to let you know that I love you! You are the greatest mom dad and family in the whole world. I will get to call in the morning on the 24th of December!! Yay tomorrow! I am very grateful for all of the help that you give to me. 

 The mission is busy and amazing and I am seeing so many miracles. I will tell you more about them in the future. :) I have to run to a teaching appointment! Yes! My first sit down and teach a lesson appointment! I am so excited! I love it and I am feeling very happy although somewhat exhausted. :)

 I love you very very very very very much. Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

 

With love,

    God be with you till we meet again.

         Sister Gordon

Busy time

 1st thing - My official mailing address is

                           Sister Nicole Gordon

                           Washington D.C. North Mission

                           11700 Falls Road

                           Potomac, MD 20854-2823

 

Ok! So some things that have happened this week. Very 1st day we got lost on our way home! We have 2 of the greatest roommates! (Sister Conizalez and Sister Gonzalez or The Zalez. He he!) They are in the Spanish program and I love listening to them talk. They speak with such love and boldness, I love it! Anyway, so we were following them home from the Visitors' Center and traffic got a little crazy so we lost them.... and had no phone..... and no address. So we pulled off at an exit and into a Sheraton Hotel parking lot. We went in to use the phone and as we waited we taught the two men at the front desk! We shared about our church and invited them to come to The Festival of Lights. Shawn talked about how some of his best friends are Mormon and how they are great people and that they have a lot of fun. He has met with the missionaries before and gone to church. He said that he was looking to go back to church with his girlfriend. We invited him to church. He seemed a little uneasy about this idea and so I asked him to pray about it. He said he would. I know God answers prayers and that He knows what is best for each of us. It was such an awesome experience! I truly enjoyed teaching and conversing with these gentlemen. Then the APs (Elder Vea and Elder Faundez) showed up along with the sisters. The sisters had talked with the APs about the fact that they thought we were lost and they were praying together to find us and to keep us safe. In the middle of their prayer we called... Prayer answered! They really are amazing people and have such love for us and the people! It brings joy to my heart to feel all of the love that surrounds me. It makes me hopeful to realize that this is what society could be like if more people would strive to keep the commandment to Love one another. :)

 

Miracle Moment! I was in the Visitors' Center (I'm there everyday from 3:30 until 10pm - bedtime is changed to 11:30 and wake up time is 7:30 for the sisters while the VC is open so late for festival. - P.S. everyone should go online and check it out! It is amazing!) So I had just finished ushering a concert and I was on my way to the resource room.... As I passed the Information Desk a man stopped me. "How do I get this book?" He asked in a thick Russian accent. I was astonished! Someone was asking ME about the Book of Mormon. So I had him fill out a referral card so that he could receive a copy in his native tongue. As he is filling it out his wife comes over and says, "Do you think that is a good idea?" He pauses for a moment. "Yes." How much strength he showed to be able to think to himself and say, yes I want this, even when a loved one may not agree. I was so impressed with him for his desire! I was also impressed with his wife for showing such love for him... to make sure that he was thinking through his decisions. Afterward I went to the front desk and was speaking with Elder Crowley who is one of our Senior Couples Missionaries. He found a Book of Mormon in Russian along with pamphlets of Joseph Smith's Testimony and Family a Proclamation to the World. How wonderful!

 

I love all that I have been able to do here. I will never underestimate how hard a visitors' center sister works again! I don't know if I've ever worked harder in my life or been more conscientious of the people around me. I am learning a lot about myself and about others. I have seen how much God loves His children and how much He is willing to help them if they will but ask! Prayer is so important in our lives. How often it is easy to say, "I'm  tired" or to give a short meaningless prayer. Never do that again! Prayer is important to help us through our day. The love of God in our lives helps us to love ourselves and to love others. God is a loving Heavenly Father who wants to hear from His children. He wants to know how our day was from our own mouths. He wants to know what is good in our lives and what is troubling us. He wants to hear us laugh about funny events and jokes. He wants to send us comfort when we are sad. He loves us and he wants us to talk with Him. He wants us to listen to the answers He gives and to watch for the ways that He blesses our lives. Prayer is so simple to forget but so essential to our personal well being. I invite you all to pray and to ask your Heavenly Father what He wants for you, to send you comfort, to share in your joy, to ask what is best for you. He loves you and will help you.

 Love as alwarys, Sister Gordon

Settling in Washington D.C.

Hello!

Well, it is cold out here in D.C. but no snow on the ground. It is such a beautiful place! There are trees everywhere. Yesterday we arrived just before 9am and were greeted by our Assistants to the President Elder Vea and Elder Faundez. They are kind Elders and very happy. We were also greeted by President Matsumori and his wife. They have the kindest and sweetest souls I think I have ever seen. Their love for us simply emanated from them and I was so grateful to feel that in a sense I was home and to know that there are people here who love me. The temple is majestic! It is surrounded by woods and it is such a place of peace. I had the opportunity to go into the woods and to pray. Such a strong feeling of belonging and being in the right place at the right time --- it is almost undescribable. I love it here! The day seems like such a blur, so much to take in. I love the Matsumoris and their goodness. I had my first interview with President Matsumori and again I have such a feeling of belonging and love. We received some training specific for our mission and to help us to begin our work. One of my favorite lessons learned was that in the scriptures Samuel was a Lamanite but he went out and did the Lord's work and became Samuel the Lamanite. To summarize I felt that it was very powerful to think that I became Sister Gordon a missionary but now I am going out and as I do the Lord's work inviting others to come unto Christ I will become Sister Gordon the Missionary. We also sang our mission song and it is BEAUTIFUL. We shared our testimonies first and it was a wonderful experience of peace and joy and knowledge... and then the song. The spirit was already so strong but during that song it was magnified and let me know that this is meant to be my song. It was such a calming and wonderful feeling.

 

Today I was assigned to a new companion! Sister Clark! She is from Brazil and she is wonderful! When I met her I was so excited and I already know that we are going to get along amazingly! She is quirky and I like that. :) I know that she is going to be a phenomenal trainer. We will be roommates with Hermana Gonzales and Hermana Canizales. I am excited to talk with them and get to know them better. They are beautiful girls with big hearts. (Pictures to come!) I am so excited for my first area! It is a new area and we are opening it! We are doing what is called white washing which just means both Sister Clark and myself are new to the area and nobody knows us yet. Lots of friends to be making! It sounds like a lot of work but you know that I love to be busy! I will also be working at the Visitor's Center. There is a lot going on there right now. We are doing the festival of lights so there will be a lot of visitors and a lot of music and fun and wonderful spiritual goodness! (I wonder if you can look up the festival of lights online to get a better idea?)

 

Mom and Dad it was so good to get to talk to you! I miss you both and love you dearly!  I haven't opened my packages yet, but I will hopefully tonight. Ah, today is p-day and so expect p-day to be on Wednesday. No more of this confusing business of it always changing. Sadly, I won't get to see Sister Liddiard very much because she will be full proselyting for the time being. 

Oh, the place to send mail is 11700 Falls Rd

                                           Potomac, MD 20854-2823

This is where they said to send all of my mail since we move around and are busy so much. Elder and Sister Huffaker will be taking care of anything that is sent to me and making sure it is delivered promptly. (They are one of our Senior couples and they are so outgoing and loving.) That is the great thing that I am already realizing about our mission; it is a place filled with people who love and care and are Christlike. I LOVE IT! And the Christmas season! What a time to remember our Savior and all that He has done and still does for us today. I know that Christ came to this earth to not only die for us but to live for us as well. I know that He lives and because He lives I am.

 

Love you a lot,

             God be with you till we meet again,

                    Love,

                        Sister Gordon

Our hearts are full!

Sister Gordon flew out last night. She was able to call before her plane took off.  She sounds so good, as well as ready to serve.  Today her mission president called letting us know that she arrived safely.  There are 40 acres of grove, surrounding the temple grounds. The new missionaries have an opportunity to walk around, reflect and commit to the Lord.  They took her to breakfast, and are going to let her sleep for a few hours and then they will go back to temple square.  She will get her new companionin the morning after which they will spend time at the Temple.  She will be very busy settling in, and we were told she may not have time to write for a few days. Washington D.C. is in full festive mode with lights and performances nightly. This will be a wonderful opportunity to share some of her talents. Any packages or letters can be sent to the mission home and they will deliver them quickly. There are transfers every 6 weeks and have found this to be the most effective way to get correspondence to the missionaries. Thanks for the prayers, love, and support from all.  Mama Glo

Best companionship Sister Liddiard

and.... she has a great family. Thanks

My new closet.

District 11B

I am very happy to be serving the Lord 

Training for Visitors Center, last week at MTC

Hey! How is everyone? Know that I love and miss you all! Thank you everyone for the letters! They are so uplifting and encouraging! I have been loving the MTC and I love my new district (although very differently from my old one.) We saw all of them off this week except for Elder Durrant who is in a cast and must stay for at least 2 more weeks. (I'll try to get a picture of that for you, we all signed his cast. :)

I ran into an Elder Pack (James Pack's little brother) who is going to Australia! Yay! And he is somewhat disappointed that I got an awesome wedding invite to James and Molly's wedding and he didn't. He he! Thanks James and Molly! I also ran into an Hermana Kim Young going to New York South Mission. She is phenomenal. We spent last spring break together in St. George! I am so excited for her.

Ok, so visitor center training.... Is AWESOME! I love media and how much more touching it is. There are 26 sisters in our district and they are all great! We have sisters from Peru, Uruguay, Pakistan, Tahiti, Fiji, Kay Ves Islands (not sure how to spell that one... I believe it is some islands off of the coast of Africa... look it up), Taiwan, Singapore, and different parts of the states. One girl is from Blanding UT and is going to temple square. CRAZY! I am so excited about DC! We only have one other sister going there. Sister DeAgostini. She is portugese speaking. Her family is Brazilian but she grew up in Salt Lake. Kim Kitchen needs to be friends with her after the mission because Sister De wants to travel! She is gorgeous and easy to get along with.

So in the MTC I am learning about using media. Super Fun! We teach other missionaries at all of our meal times! I love it because it makes me pay attention to the different pictures! There are so many! And I find more details and more meaning in all of them than I ever have before. I also really enjoy seeing other people's perceptions of the different pictures. It is such a learning experience for me and has made my love for Christ, God, and others grow. I also love anyone who does art. ART IS FABULOUS! For those of you who have a talent for art and have stopped doing it in any form painting, music, photography, cinematography, etc. pick it up again! Even if you have the desire to do it try and I know that your talents will improve and it will effect people. Remember to always influence others for good!

For all of my friends who are now friends with my mother. I think that is awesome! You will find out that she is more amazing than I am! She is a big part of why I am who I am and why I have such an ability to love so many people. However, don't think that our friendship gets to stop just because you found someone cooler than me. Oh, Mom, expect a lot of new friends! Many of the Elders and Sisters I have met here will be visiting your home in the future. Probably sometime after April 24, 2012... Because that is when I will be home for them to meet you and because they won't be home until after that either. :)

I have heard some great things about the Visitor Center Sisters! One of my favorite is from David A. Bednar. He said that as they sit and choose missionaries they put all of the sisters up first and choose the visitor center sisters. There are only 18 visitor centers and they choose women that they can see have a love for Christ and a testimony of his Atonement. I truly feel this is something that I can testify of. I know that none of us are perfect, that Heavenly Father knew this and so he provided a way for us to repent and come unto him. John 3:16 - 17." For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever beleiveth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world, through him, might be saved." We are never alone in this life. Our brother Christ has felt everything we have felt and He is there for us. He wants us to come unto him and to feel peace. I love this message and it has blessed my life in so many ways! I have come on a mission to spread this same peace to others. That they may feel of the love I have felt; the peace and the comfort. All they have to be willing to do is to pray to God and ask with the intent to act upon His answers going forward in faith even when it may be scary. I know that God answers prayers and that He loves all of His children.

God be with you till we meet again,

      Love,

         Sister Nicole Gordon