I am not a truck

Hey guys!

I'm sorry I won't have a lot of time to write today. We are moving! Woohoo! We have all the Rochester missionaries helping us move, so that'll be nice. 

 I'm not sure why the camera cut my eye out like that but this is how we drove from Bloomington to Rochester in the Ferrara's car! It was about an hour and a half drive like this haha.
 The car is full of Hermana Hudman's stuff ;)

Wow, this week has been awesome. Last Wednesday we had S Con (sisters conference) in Bloomington. It was an all day event, and it was really well done. Every single sister missionary in Minnesota was there all together. The theme was love and unity, and we had guest speakers and crafts and games! We also had a testimony meeting and it was very powerful. I love being a sister missionary!! 

Transfers were also that day. Hermana Hudman and I OFFICIALLY BECAME COMPAÑERAS. (Dream came true, thanks President Barney). It's been a really busy past couple of days but it's been so fun. Great things will happen this transfer, I know it!

Yesterday was the Primary Program at church. We had a couple people come which was awesome! It was so so cute. The first kid that went up is 5 years old, and said "I am not a truck. I am a child of God" and talked about how much he loves trucks. Hahaha so adorable. 

We also got to teach Priesthood yesterday! Haha I had never been in Elder's Quorum before so that was a bit interesting. They asked us to speak on missionary work and explain simple day-to-day things that everyone can do. I think it went well. 

A lady we did service for has a bearded dragon named Drake and we got to hold him. Funny story is that right after this, she set it down on the ground and a little kid was running around and didn't see it and stepped on it and the lady freaked out so bad haha.
 It was a bit scary.

Sounds like you are doing awesome work, Elder Nissinen! Fyi, I lived in casa #6 right down the road from ya😊 Keep it up and don't get discouraged! 

Love you all. 

Have a great week,

Love Hermana Nissinen

SO STOKED!

Hey guys!

Wow, kinda crazy to think that we are all in different states/countries right now! I'm glad everyone had safe travels. I was so happy to get your little email, Elder Nissinen! I hope you are surviving your first week there :) Looks like Europe is sooo fun mom and dad! Thanks for the pics!

This week started off a little slow, but it picked up quick and this past weekend was awesome! We had some really cool things happen. 

This is Alex Schloo! She lived in the Forest Grove Stake for 4 years and knows the Sharp's, Brother Burke, and the Knapp's. It was really fun to talk about Forest Grove
and stuff with her :) SMALL WORLD.

We have a Sister's Conference this Wednesday in Bloomington, and it's basically an all day conference for all the sisters in the mission! There's gonna be speakers and crafts and fun stuff. I'm excited! Transfers are also this Wednesday for sisters. Hermana Hopkins will be leaving and my new companion will be....HERMANA HUDMAN! I can't wait! She is my mission best friend!!!! It's going to be an awesome transfer. I'm so lucky I get to stay in Rochester. This place is the best.

This is Anna! She is the lady that makes all of the food at Salvation Army where we do service.
She is really sweet and is a great cook

Last night we had the church tour for all 5 of the Rochester wards... SUCCESS. We got it put in the newspaper, handed out a ton of flyers, and told everyone about it. We had quite a few nonmembers come and it was awesome. On Saturday, I told all of the missionaries in the Rochester wards that for every flyer they handed out, I would do a pushup! Haha I can't remember how many I had to do, but it was a good motivation to get them out. Church tours are a really great opportunity to introduce people to the church.

Alexis and us at the church tour!

Renee came to church yesterday! She is so so sweet. She actually lives in the 4th ward area, so we will be passing her off to the elders this week but she is one of my best friends. Her and I have a great relationship and even though we won't be teaching her anymore, I'm definitely still gonna hang out with her. 

Sweet beautiful Renee, my amazing friend

We met a lot of people this week from South Sudan. They really are the nicest people and when we go over to their apartments, they just always offer and give us their food. They are so humble and sweet. Haha this family from Iraq invited us into their apartment on Saturday. They kept speaking to us in Arabic and we were like "Uhhhh we literally have no idea what you are saying" lol. But then the grandma brought us Arabic tea and we tried telling her we couldn't drink it and then she was so confused. So she brought us out really gross warm milk and I just felt so bad so I had to drink it but it was horrible! It's actually really really cool to meet people from all over the world though.

Sweet Alexa :) I love her so much! She is returning back to church. She also lives in a fancy apartment
 and we went outside and ate dinner.

I'm so excited for this new transfer and everything it has to bring. It's gonna be SO AWESOME😊

Hermana Elias' birthday party

Good luck this semester Jacob, Kim and B! And Elder Nissinen, buena suerte😉 Work hard this week and stretch yourself, but remember not to be too hard on yourself and get discouraged. I'm so excited to hear about su compañero y sus maestros y la comida y todo! Go treat yourself with a Bueno Bar today from the tienda :) 

Our family is seriously the best. We are so blessed. 

Love Hermana Nissinen

Apostolic Blessing & Catholic Mass

Hey y'all!

JOE! Wow, tonight you will officially be Elder Nissinen. I am so so stoked for you and proud of you. Yesterday a kid in the ward gave his farewell talk and I was thinking about how you were giving yours the same day. Warning: this will be the LONGEST week of your entire life, but just make it to Sunday! Work hard in the CCM. I absolutely love my mission and I'm so proud to have an awesome brother like you. It's your turn! Show the Lord what you can do. 

This week has been wild, to say the least. I got to go to MLC on Tuesday. President Stacy from the 70 was there, and he gave us all a blessing that came directly from Elder Renlund. We received this Apostolic Blessing, and all of us  missionaries in the room were crying. It was truly amazing. I won't share everything that he blessed us with, but certain things he said stood out to me, especially to remember how sacred this work is. I need to remember more how important my calling is as a missionary.

Sunday was a great day. Brother Foster, the best member missionary out there, brought 2 younger guys to church. We met with them and they invited us to their Catholic Mass so we went to it last night. Very interesting, but way cool! It was actually amazing to see many similarities. It was neat for them to come to our church and then us go to theirs in the same day. We also got to watch the Face2Face with Elder Cook last night. It was so good! I've been geeking out a lot lately about church history, and I've been reading and listening to the book "Saints" that they were talking about and that the church just released. Oh my goodness, READ IT. It's on Gospel Library. It's so so good! I'm learning a lot about Joseph Smith and all of the stuff that went on during that time. 10/10 recommend and I'm not even halfway through it haha. 

There's 2 senior sisters that are in Kasson who are companions. They are both widows, and they are absolutely hilarious. We got to do a blitz with them Thursday night, and just go to their area and visit with some people they are teaching. Haha one of the funniest nights on my mission. Just to see two 60 year old women knocking on doors is honestly the funniest thing. They are really bold sisters, which taught me a lot because sometimes I feel like I need to be more bold! 

This week we have interviews and then next week we have transfers! Holy cow! These 6 weeks have gone by so quick. I'm pretty sure I'll stay haha. 

Haha HUGE rainstorm Tuesday afternoon!!! Biggest one I have ever seen. I got super soaked just running in from the car.

Again, I'm so proud of you Joe! You are going to be an amazing missionary. The CCM can be really hard, but just go into it and have fun and be prepared to sit a lot and study a lot. And please please try the food :) Travel safe, and I can't wait to hear from you. It's pretty cool; we both get to serve on the Lord's team at the same time. You're awesome Joe. Can't wait to hear about all of your experiences. 

I love you all so much. Mom and Dad, have a ton of fun on your Europe trip and don't think about us kids! I better see pictures! 

This is the Restored church of Jesus Christ. I know it without a doubt. 

Con amor, 

Hermana Nissinen

Cops & Robbers? Or Missionaries?

Que pasa!

It's been another good week here. Rochester is beginning to turn into fall very quickly! We have had lots of rain and thunder storms this week and the weather is definitely cooling down. I love it :)

Before I forget, my Bishop's niece is going to the Yakima, Washington mission spanish speaking leaving December 5th! Watch out for Anna Lamb in a few months, Joe! Her dad is a football coach for BYU.

It's been crazy! Tuesday night we drove with the Elders to La Crosse, WI. We were supposed to meet up with the senior couple there Wednesday morning after District Council, but because of storm damage and everything they weren't able to make it. Sister Hopkins and I didn't have our car or anything, so we didn't really know what to do all day by ourselves. We decided to just go tracting and get some other work done and stuff! It ended up being a good day. We were sad we couldn't meet with the senior couple but everything worked out fine.

We also had exchanges with the Rochester 5th sisters on Thursday. Sister White came to this area and we had a great time together :) She is so sweet! 

Well... A lady called the cops on us last night...

I had my first encounter with the police on my mission! At 8:30 PM, we knocked on a potential's door. The dog was barking like crazy, so we just decided to knock twice and leave. We got back in our car and finished sending out a couple texts, when 4 police cars drove right in front of the house and got their dogs out and started walking around her whole house. We sat in our car and were like "Uhhhh they may have just called on us hahaha." So we hesitated to go out, but finally we decided to just go out and talk to them. Officer Daley brought us to the sidewalk and got our ID's and ministerial certificates and talked to us. The lady had just moved there that day so she was just scared. We felt so bad! The officer was really nice though, thank goodness. I don't think that 2 youngish girls walking up in skirts and dresses is that intimidating lol. Maybe we won't knock on her door at night😉

This past week I had to give 3 trainings in 3 different district councils! It was a lot of fun and was really good for me to be able to study different topics. I love teaching and learning new things.

We're working with some really awesome people right now, all between the ages of 21 and 27. They are all just looking for something more in their life and are wanting to make changes. It's been way awesome! Kind of interesting to work with people that are close to our age haha.

Tonight we will be driving up to Bloomington and staying with the Barney's for MLC tomorrow! I'm stoked. It's going to be a great week :)

We played ultimate frisbee. It was so so fun!

Love you all! Have a great last week at home Joe. I am so thoroughly exctied for him and the adventure he has. Missions are the best. I love mine so much and I am so grateful to be a missionary! Everyday I get to testify of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. It's changed my life. I am just so grateful to be here.  Please send me your talk! There's a kid in our ward that's giving his farewell talk this Sunday as well and his mom asked me to play a musical number for him so I'll be doing that. You guys are the best!

Love Hermana Nissinen