Beautiful Cherry Blossoms.

Dearest Family and friends!

   Nature is beautiful and something I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving to us. I saw the most beautiful cherry blossoms near the Washington and Jefferson monuments. AMAZING!  I am so very grateful to all of you and the letters I have received! Thank you for helping to support me through my mission. I miss you all and I love you greatly.  Just know that I am extemely happy and working hard. I love it here and I am going to miss it when I leave to a new area! Many exciting adventures to follow. :) I will have to compile some good mission stories soon. I love you so much and I know that Heavenly Father loves all of you. Also, I would challenge you all to find more happiness by following the commandments of God. :) It is for our benefit that he gives them to us. I know this because I have seen blessings come to person after person as they live more in harmony with those commandments.

Mosiah 2:41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ^ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are ^bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out ^cfaithful to the end they are received into ^dheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

 Do not postpone your joy. It is not waiting around the corner or will be found in the future. It is here and now waiting for you to recognize it. Take advantage of that wonderful atonement the Savior has lovingly given us. Forgive others, forgive yourselves, and find joy. :)

 I love you,

God be with you till we meet again!
Sister Nicole Gordon

Still using her skills.

Sister Gordon  finding a way to have a little fun.
Doing a skit for standards night.

No, this is not how she normally talks on the phone

Sister Clark and Sister Gordon,

(2 Nephi 26:24) He doeth not ^aanything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he ^bloveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw ^call men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.

God gives us gifts for the benefit of bringing joy and happiness to each of us and also to others.We all have gifts to share for the edification of others. God gives each of us the ability to do something... And we should take great satisfaction in this ability

Each of your talents and creations have touched me in my life and I am grateful to each of you. When you get down remember that  you are special, that God made you special and that he wants you to be happy. I love you all so very dearly and hope that you are doing well. Remember to smile!

With much love!

   God be with you till we meet again.

       Sister Gordon

LOVE this mission

I love my mission and know that I am in the right place at the right time!

note from Momma Glo

Wow I am really a week behind on this but will work on it this weekend. Nikki sent pictures this week and I will get some posted today. I am a bit electronically challenged, but am working on this. Thanks from me for all of you who are there for her.

Thanks for being there for me.

Well hello all! I miss you all immensely! I love to hear how you are doing and what is going on in your lives. I apologize for being slow to respond at times. I had no idea how much time could be invested into helping others. :) I thought I did a lot at home but WOW! I love the people here in my mission. There is so much diversity. I feel like I meet someone from a new country every day! And even in our ward there are many people from different places and backgrounds as well as people who have served missions EVERYWHERE! I love it! I think one day I will be able to speak Spanish, French, Portugese, Sign Language, German, Mandarin.... okay okay a little more realistically I would like to learn some different languages. As many as I can. I love how even a little bit of communication in someone's native tongue helps them to feel comfortable and happy.
This week has been beautiful out and I haven't needed a coat most of the time. Sorry to all of you who are still in Utah. Ha Ha! (mischievious smile) Although from the few days of rain I have a feeling that I am going to need a raincoat very very soon. Next week is supposed to be the peak of the cherry blossoms so we are planning to go to the city! Woot Woot! This will be my first time there. Which will also mean that next week I will probably not write very much if at all. To those of you who faithfully follow this blog I am sorry to deprive you of that wonderful weekly e-mail. But there will be pictures in the future to help with all of that.
I just want you all to know how much I love and care about each of you and how special you all are to me. I don't think any of you will ever fully understand how much you mean to me and how much you bring to my life. Which is something so beautiful that God would give us friends and family and significant others to help complete each one of us and our lives. Our talents and interests and abilities when used for a righteous purpose always help us and those around us to be better and happier people. I feel very strongly that each of you have helped with my life to improve who I am and the things which I can do. I hope to have been the same for you to help you to do more than you could alone. God gives each of us things to benefit us and those around us. He gives us commandments to help us to live our lives and to be happy.
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The greatest thing about teaching is that I get to see people take a journey. I see them think and question and when they truly seek they ALWAYS find. It is amazing how eager God is to give us answers and blessings when we decide that we are finally ready for them. God is always there for us, with open arms to recieve us. It is only our decisions that ever push us away from Him. And even when we leave He is always there waiting for us to turn back to welcome us back into His loving arms and to give us peace.
I am always so surprised at how easy it is to forget that love and peace in moments of decision. So often people are attracted to the false advertisements that Satan gives that something will bring us happiness... Money, relationships, being thin, being popular, etc. But it is simply a moment of fun or adrenaline and then we realize that Satan has given us nothing and left us empty. At this point we have two choices. We can continue trying to seek out the moments getting our thrills and then again feeling that emptiness OR we can seek for true happiness. Things that are substantial, things that are from God, things that leave us feeling full. - We can serve those around us and our hearts wil be full of love. We can seek learning and our minds will be full of knowledge. We can build relationships with friends and family and our lives will be full of happiness.
What is most important in this world? Is it the titles and the success that comes from running a company or being a supervisor? Is it being the prettiest person in the room with the most money? No. It is as simple as that. Our lives should be more meaningful than that.
So often we worry about the things that we don't have. We are taught by society to strive for more. To never be satisfied. What about what we already have? Thomas S. Monson talked about this at the last General Conference. He says that when we focus too much on tomorrow we find we have a bunch of empty yesterdays."
This is my challenge to each of you. To live this day to the fullest potential that it has. Do not worry about the future so much but focus on what is going on at this time. Look at what you have today and who you have. Take care of the relationships you have now. Spend time with your families, tell them you love them. Call your friends and let them know you truly care. Give your full heart even if that means it gets broken. Do something you've been meaning to do but just haven't been able to get around to it. Make it a wonderful day today.
That is something I am learning out here. Things don't always go the way we want it to.... but we can't let that stop us. We can't make choices for other people but we can make our own choices. Choose good and do what God wants and it will always work out in the end. He loves each of us so much and He is just waiting to help us and bless us. So let Him.
God really gives us everything for our benefit. Times can be tough but as you work through it you will be stronger and better. Thine afflictions shall be but a small moment. Trust in God and love every moment.
I love you all very much and I hope that you are all doing super great. It is funny to think that your lives go on regardless of if I am there or not. I hope that you all know that I care about you and pray for you often. I hope you are all having the most wonderful day! Keep your head to the sky!
God be with you till we meet again.
Love,
Sister Gordon