I'm coming home!!!

Dear friends and family,

Whelp, this is it😊

I've been thinking for awhile about what I wanted to write in this letter. I can't express to you the feelings of my heart at this moment. I never thought this day would come! 

Being a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Minnesota has definitely not always been easy, but I 10/10 recommend it for EVERYONE. From learning Spanish, being away from home, getting rejected by those who didn't want to hear what you're teaching, getting along with every companion, and surviving the freezing cold winter, there has definitely been hard times. But I have also had absolutely amazing experiences that I am excited to tell you about when I come home. There's too many to share in this letter! 

Yesterday I had the opportunity to have my departing interview with President Barney. He is amazing! He gave me so much good advice about life after my mission and what I need to do. It was a pretty emotional interview for both of us. After, we stood up and he gave me a great big hug and said "I love you." This meant a lot to me. I love President and Sister Barney and I know he was supposed to be my Mission President. 

I am so sad to leave it behind. It doesn't feel like it's my time to go ya know? But I am ready to apply the things I learned from my mission to the rest of my life. 

The only thing I want you to know is how much I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. Over my mission, I have been able to feel His love for me more than I have been able to feel before. I have been able to feel His love for those who I have come in contact with. Bringing others unto the fold of God has brought me the truest joy I could have ever experienced. I have been able to apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ into my life daily. Every day I repented. Every day I did my best to teach repentance to the people here in Minnesota. 

Was I perfect by any means? No. But I feel confident that when I step off the plane in PDX this week, I will be able to tell my Heavenly Father that I did my best, and I will "seguir adelante" & look forward with no regrets. What a small sacrifice I made in comparison to our brother Jesus Christ, but I did it because I love Him. I could not have made it through my mission if it wasn't solely for that.

The gospel means so much to me, and I am forever grateful for it.

Guys, it's been the best 18 months.

I wouldn't trade my mission for anything in the whole entire world. 

I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU & HUG YOU. 

NOS VEMOS EN 2 DÍAS❤

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Nissinen

Letter to President Barney

June 24, 2019 Dear President Barney, I have been reflecting the past few weeks on what to write to you in this letter. I wish words could describe all of the emotions I have right now, but they just can't. Neither can they describe the past 18 months of my life. I will sure try my best.  I would first like to express my gratitude for you and Sister Barney. You have truly become my parents here in Minnesota. Thank you for always being so loving to me and for teaching me how to appropriately pronounce my last name! I appreciate the countless hours you took to meet with me, give me blessings, and email me every week. Many of the emails you sent to the mission each week I forwarded to my family at home. I know they have loved them just as much as I have. I am forever grateful that I was able to have you and Sister Barney as my mission presidents throughout my whole mission. I love you both. My mission would not have been the same if it wasn't for all the missionaries I was able to serve with and around. I know I was supposed to have each one of my companions for a reason; I have learned so much from them. Every one of them has helped me grow in one way or another. I am also grateful for the many opportunities I had to work with the sisters in my zones. They are wonderful missionaries. Many of them come from difficult backgrounds, and it's taught me that anyone can serve a mission! There is a mission for everyone. I am grateful for all the Elders I was able to serve around. Many of them taught me what I may or may not want my future, eternal companion, haha. I truly love the missionaries in this mission. I hope to remain in contact with many of them. On my mission I have learned "bastante," meaning, a lot. My eyes have been opened to the Spanish culture. At the beginning of my mission, I honestly was not sure how I would be able to relate to them. I couldn't even speak their language! But through prayer and hard work, I was finally able to connect. I have been humbled through working with them. Many of them don't have much, but they come here for a better life for their children. One lady in particular, Flor, has made a forever impact on my life. Flor has 4 children, all between the ages of 12 to 18. She was a stay-at-home mom in Mexico while her husband worked and her children went to school. Unexpectedly, her husband passed away, leaving her with 4 kids, no husband, and no job. She decided to move to the United States for a better life. They have been living here for just about 3 years now. Flor works 2 jobs; one in a factory and another at a restaurant, and she takes English classes in the late evenings. She is truly an example of many of the people I have encountered throughout my mission. It's so humbling. I hope that when I am a mother, I will remember Flor and her sacrifice for her children. How blessed am I. Besides all the delicious Mexican food I have also eaten on my mission, I am grateful that I was able to learn about the cultures, traditions, and language of the Hispanic people. They are very kind, generous, and hard working. Almost all of them are religious and have beliefs in God. I have learned how I can have more faith in Him through their examples.  One of the biggest things I have learned from my mission is the concept of love. I have been able to feel a small bit of the love that my Heavenly Father has for every single one of His children. I have been able to feel more of the love He has for me. When I got to the MTC in Mexico, I felt so broken down. I felt as if I had lost everything (which in a way I sort of did). I had a very difficult time. But it was then that I was able to feel Heavenly Father's love for me. I know He was there helping me, and I know I needed to feel like that so I would be able to rely on Him more than I had ever needed to before in my life. He has been here throughout my entire mission pushing me on and encouraging me, just like how my earthly father would. I have felt the importance of always being worthy to have the Holy Ghost. When my companion and I didn't know what street or apartment building to knock, or who we should go visit, or what we should teach to a less-active family, the Holy Ghost has been there as a guide. I think it's so cool how the very first point in the message of the Restoration is that God is our loving Heavenly Father. The first thing! How comforting it is to know that God loves you, me, and all of His children.  Another thing I have really learned from my mission is the power of the Book of Mormon. Wow. What an incredible record it is. Being able to dive myself into it, testify of it, and apply it to my life daily has been life-changing for me. I love sharing my testimony of it to others. I'm not sure how many times people tried to test my knowledge of the Book of Mormon and "bash" with my companions and I, but from each of those experiences my testimony has just grown stronger and stronger from it. I love the quote from Preach My Gospel when it says, "The enemies of the Church understand this clearly. This is why they go to such great lengths to try to disprove the Book of Mormon, for if it can be discredited, the Prophet Joseph Smith goes with it." It is so true. Some of the most spiritual experiences I have had on my mission are those when we were able to share the First Vision. It's powerful how strong you can feel the spirit when quoting Joseph Smith's words. A few weeks ago I told you the story of a man who was not being very nice to us about the church. Well, I felt prompted to just state the First Vision. When I finished, this man could not speak. He tried, but no words came out of his mouth. I know the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I am grateful that I had so many opportunities to come to know of it's truthfulness.  It is a little hard to see how I have personally changed throughout my mission. I still think I am the same in many aspects; my personality, my interests, some of my characteristics. But I have noticed a change in what I think is most important in life. Is getting 100 likes on my Facebook post important to me anymore? Nah, not really. Is caring so much about what others think of me as important as it was before? Nope. Having 18 months to not focus on myself was a bit hard at first, but ultimately, I found a lot more joy in focusing on the lives of others around me. I care more about other people. I have come to know for myself how important church attendance, prayer, and daily scripture study is. Through Safeguards, I have learned how to use technology wisely. Rather than scroll on social media for hours, I know that there are better uses with my time. Having weekly device audits where your companion looks at everything has helped me stay accountable and to make sure I'm always doing what I should be. These are a few things that I have noticed changed about myself. I pray that I won't ever revert back to my own ways; that I will follow my goals in My Plan and keep moving forward. Serving a mission has made me a lot more grateful for the things I have been blessed with. My family would have to be number one. I never realized how much my mom and dad did for me until I wasn't with them. Seeing so many dysfunctional families on my mission, I know that all of them would be stronger and things would work together much more smoothly if they followed the principles of the gospel. I have seen the importance of having the gospel as the foundation in the family unit. My family is an example of that, of which I will be forever grateful for. I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of Him I am here. He is the reason I decided to stay on my mission. He is the one who has helped me along this journey. I will forever be indebted unto Him. I love Him. Through His sacrifice, everything He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, I will live with Him again. Alma 7 has to be one of the greatest chapter in all the Book of Mormon. I have relied on it many times. Verse 11 and 12 in particular stand out to me. At the end of verse 12, it says "That He may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." "Succor" means to run to. I have felt Him run to me. I am so grateful for Him. How lucky am I to be a part of His sacred work.  I just can't find words to express to you the feelings of my heart about my mission. To say "I love my mission," is not sufficient enough. But in all honesty, I love my mission. I really do. No, it was not easy, but I knew that going into it. I would not have traded it for anything in the world.  I share my testimony that this is the true church of Jesus Christ restored on the earth today with living prophets to guide us. I know He lives. I know He watches over us. I am very nervous to go home. I'm not sure what it will be like. But I know that my mission has prepared me for my future. I look forward to the things I have ahead.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Love Hermana Nissinen  P.S. let me know again when you and Sister Barney are going to Finland!

The Polar Vortex

Hola familia!

Wow, what a historical week it has been in Minnesota. 

We reached the lowest temperature MN has had since 1996. Temperatures dropped down to -60 degrees (with wind chill) on Wednesday.

Ya know how I told you I was taking the train to the University of Minnesota campus Monday night for an exchange? Okay so I got super bundled up and I got there just fine. I found the other sister and we walked back to the apartment. 30 minutes later, the AP's texted everyone saying that President Barney has grounded all the missionaries until Thursday, meaning that we can't go outside whatsoever. So I was stuck in the Twin Cities YSA ward pretty much all week! I was with Sister Carpenter who is really sweet, but it was hard not being in my area and not being able to leave. I got soooo bored out of my mind! Those were the longest 2 days by far on my whole mission, I was so grateful that we could have freedom on Thursday to finally go out. But yeah! Definitely the coldest temperature I had ever been in. Everything shut down, even the postal service. Nothing happened in Minnesota for 2 days haha. I did some art, cleaned, played some foosball, watched some church movies, listened to all of General Conference again, and tried to find other things to fill my time for 2 whole days. 

What's funny is that on Saturday when it was like 25 degrees, people were outside without coats on and no hats or scarfs hahaha. I think I can say that I've had a Minnesota winter! 

Thursday we had interviews with President Barney. He is amazing. He gave me a lot of advice as to what I should do in this area, as I have been very overwhelmed lately with all of it. I have to remind myself "All I have to do right now is..." hahaha. 

Friday we had Mission Leadership Council all day in Bloomington. Man was it a heated day. At the beginning of MLC, we do the stewardship report where the Sister Training Leaders and Zone Leaders of each zone get up and report the zone's goals and actuals  for the past month, as well as state the goals for the coming month. Then President Barney opens it up for everyone to ask questions about what went well, what our plans are behind our goals, and what our focus is going to be for the month. The Saint Paul West Zone did not do very well in January as far as meeting our goals, and the goals for February were definitely far-fetched, but we still put them up on the board for everyone to see... and MAN we got ROASTED so so hard. I definitely had to toughen up my skin to take the heat and come up with some quick responses. President knew it had been going too far, so he told everyone to stop. It's tough; being a missionary is so competitive. There's always things to compare yourself too, your companionship too, and even your zone too. But by the end of the day, does any of that really matter? It's made me think a lot more about my purpose as a missionary. If I'm talking to everyone, inviting everyone, and being exactly obedient, then that's all I'm asked to do. 

So yeah, I survived the "polar vortex" this year! Probably the coldest temperature I will ever be in. It was colder than the North pole and Siberia. While I was trying to find stuff to do, I looked at my family history and saw that my great Grandpa had lived in Virginia, MN. That's in my mission! I told President Barney that on Friday and he told me to ask Grandma if she would possibly have the address to his house and said that I could go there some day if she has it. That would be really cool I think. 

This is for you Joe!

Anyways, been one heck of a week. I'm ready for this next one. Thanks so much for the emails and support. Sorry I'm terrible at writing back to everyone. I just really don't like emailing anymore hahaha. Today we are gonna get together with the elders and play some games and get some energy out from being stuck all week.

Love you guys!! Have a wonderful week and good luck with everything.

Xoxo Hermana Nissinen

A Cold Welcome To Frogtown!

Hola hola! 

Whelp, I made it to St. Paul! It's been the craziest, most hectic week of my mission by far. My farewell party in Rochester that the ward held for me went really well. About 50-60 people came, which I think is more than who came to my actual farewell when I left for my mission hahaha. But it was really sweet of them to all come. Tuesday and Wednesday were packed with just random stuff that I needed to get done before I left. I had procrastinated packing until 10:00 Wednesday night, so I was up until 1:30 AM packing Thursday morning... I have SO MUCH STUFF. I really don't know how I've collected this junk.

Early Thursday morning all of us missionaries that were getting transferred left early to drive up to Bloomington. I was off of about 4 hours of sleep, so I was exhausted. I was in the car with Sister Knapp while she was driving, and as we were going 70 mph, all of a sudden we looked back and her bike completely FLEW OFF the car and slid to the side of the road. It was so bad! We ran down the road and got it and luckily only her fender came off. Not sure how that was the only thing. But since it was so blizzardy that morning, a semi truck drove right past me and completely blew me over so I fell hahaha. Crazy morning.

My new companion is Hermana Powell! She is from St. George, Utah and she's been out for about 8 months. She's really fun and has lots of energy, so it's gonna be real fun with her. Since we are the STL's over 2 zones, it's been really confusing trying to figure everything out. The other problem is that we actually do have a car now, but we barely have any miles to use for the month. Sooooo the mission bought us each bus passes, so we have been using the bus everyday. It's really crazy! There's some interesting people here in St. Paul, it's a whole different world than Rochester lol. I'm really trying to take it one day at a time and just stay positive through the freezing cold temperatures. Wednesday is a high of -13 but with wind chill they are expecting it to be about -45 so that will be exciting. If it gets -40 or below with wind chill we are not allowed to go outside, so no worries ;) It snowed quite a bit last night and is expecting to snow more today so President Barney just told everyone that they have to stay inside until this afternoon. 

Spanish work is also so much different than English haha. I'm literally having a culture shock, it's crazy. In my ward here, there are 500 people listed in our ward records. And only about 50 come regularly. 50! If any of you previous missionaries could give me any advice of how to work with all of these less-actives, I would greatly appreciate it. The Bishop asked me yesterday in sacrament to go up and share my testimony and introduce myself, and looking over the congregation I just felt so overwhelmed at the work that needs to be done in this area. There hasn't been a convert baptism here in over a year, and no one has been coming to church, so I'm seriously so stoked to just get in here and get some stuff done! I know it will be hard work, but I love the members here already and I just want to work my hardest and make an impact in this ward. It's gonna take time for sure, but I just pray that I can do it! 

Our apartment is way nice. Nicest one I've lived in. We have a sweet clubhouse with a really nice gym as well, so now I can burn off all these tacos that I'm eating again (woohoo!). I'll put the video in Google Photos.

Been a crazy long week, but I'm stoked for this next week. Tonight I'm taking the train (by myself!) to the University of Minnesota campus to meet up with the sisters there for an exchange tomorrow. Should be an adventure. 

Love you all! Have a safe week. Good luck with work and school.

Con amor, 

Hermana Nissinen

Frogtown!

Hey everyone!

It's a bittersweet time for me. President Barney told me last week in my interview that I will be getting transferred to Frogtown, St. Paul this Thursday. I am excited, but also pretty sad as Rochester has become my family! I really love this place so much and especially the ward members. Tonight, the Bishop's family is hosting a party for me at their house for everyone to come over and say goodbye. They even put it in the bulletin and announced it in Sacrament. So sweet!! I've grown really close to many families and people in this area just over 6 months. It's hard to say goodbye, but I'm looking forward to all the friends I will meet in St. Paul!

The Ferrara's took us to Olive Garden the day before I left! He is in the mission presidency and they recently just got
home from their mission in Italy

The Hardman family. Brother Hardman is our ward
mission leader in Rochester. Super cute family.

Mrs. Monica Geang, really funny lady from South Sudan

Super bad picture, but this is Deng.
Less-active kid we worked with.

I looooove the Prices! They are AMAZING at family history. They know their stuff. And she is a really great cook so I always looked forward to dinner at their house. They even called us sometimes in the morning and invited us over for breakfast.

Sweet Haley Taggart :) A laurel in my ward.

The Vincent's are this really cool couple up in Pine Island. They are so complimentary and want to take me kayaking when I come back! I love them a lot. They also just got married like 2 years ago so that's cool. Sister Vincent is a science teacher at a private Catholic high school and Brother Vincent works at IBM.

Little Monson couldn't stop crying as well. I love it!

These kids started CRYING when they had to say goodbye to me! So dang cute. Clayton, the 10 year old, even said between his tears, "maybe we can even write each other when you leave" hahaha awwwww.

The Rowse family (minus Brother Rowse). She served her mission in Mongolia, and her husband is a surgeon at Mayo. They have 3 really cute, very well behaved boys.

The Petersen family! Crazy fun family that moved into the ward a few months ago and fed us pretty much weekly. They have 6 kids, with another on the way! AHHH!

The Fletcher's :) My all time favorite family in Rochester. Bishop is amazing, Ella, Clara, Eliza, and Calvin are great kids, and Sister Fletcher is so loving and generous. They hosted about 60 people last night to say goodbye to me. Definitely a family that I will always love and stay in touch with. Their niece is the one in Joe's mission right now... JOE GO HIT UP HERMANA LAMB SO WE CAN BE RELATED TO THE FLETCHER'S

I'm gonna miss the Wheeler family. They are so funny and quirky. Brother Wheeler was a really big help to me during my past few months here since my companions have been English. He knows spanish, so he would help us with the spanish speaking people.

Pretty awkward picture, but this is Brother Foster (far right), Vivek, and Bishop Fletcher (far left). All 3 of these guys are really high up at the Mayo Clinic. Vivek and Brother Foster are cancer researchers, and Bishop is a radiologist. If I ever need a job, I know who to talk to!

I LOVE THE BLY'S! They are the most amazing couple I have ever met. I love them so much! This is who you guys send my letters and packages to. Sister Bly is an early morning seminary teacher and the Sunday School teacher, and Brother Bly is a dentist and also plays the banjo in a bluegrass band. They said if I ever go to BYU they have a son to set me up with hahaha. They have definitely become some close friends of mine.

The Widman's are an amazing family. Sister Widman reminds me so much of you, mom. I told her that last night when I said goodbye and she said, "Wow, I take that as the biggest compliment." Haha Brother and Sister Widman are so cool.

I will be going up to a Spanish ward there. My companion will be Hermana Powell who is super awesome! She's been out for about 7 months now. It will be fun to be her companion. I will continue to stay as the Sister Training Leader, but I will actually be over 2 zones now! The St. Paul West Zone and the Minneapolis Zone. I'll have 6 sets of sisters to be over and do exchanges with. I've never had that many, so it will be interesting! It helps me remember that I have to set a good example and be exactly obedient.

It has been very very cold here this past week. Saturday night we were doing some stop bys and I was outside for like a minute and my nose hairs froze. It hurt. It finally snowed again too so that was fun! Our weather app on our phone isn't working for some reason so I never actually know how cold it is, but it's definitely in the negatives for sure.

Yesterday after church, we had a great lesson with Vivek. I have been wanting to set a date for him to get baptized for weeks now, and we finally did yesterday!! His date is for February 16th. I am sooo happy. He's a great guy with so much potential. 

I hope you all are doing Come, Follow Me. It's awesome! This week I learned about how I can worship my Savior. What can I do to show my love for Him? I thought about it, and I wrote in my study journal this phrase. "Because I love the Lord..." and then filled in the blank with a few different things. What do you do because you love the Lord? Just something to think about :)

Man I'm gonna miss this place so so much and all of my friends here. 

Love you guys,

Have a wonderful week and stay warm for me! Last night walking into the apartment, I wanted to cozy up by our warm fire place so bad haha! Please say hi to Mama and Papa for me too. 

Love Hermana Nissinen 

Breaking into apartments

HOLA!

I have missed you guys this week. I hope you all had fun with birthday's and stuff.

It's been a pretty windy week over here in Rochester. Winds got up to 45 mph which made it kinda chilly. Sometimes when we knock on someone's door and they just give us a hard time about being there and then say "Stay warm," I like to say "We won't!" while walking away. Probably not the nicest thing but some people are just not very nice to us so I get a little sassy haha. 

Well, it's been a year. I can hardly believe it. It's been amazing! Now I've got this whole "6 months to sexy" thing to start working on haha.

Tim, a YSA in a different ward, is a violin performance major from BYU. I got asked a few weeks ago to prepare a musical number for my ward, so I asked him if he would do a song with me so we did that yesterday in both our wards! I'm sorry I didn't even get a video of us practicing together. But it was really beautiful. I actually really miss accompanying and performing! 

Tomorrow we have interviews. That's probably when I'm gonna find out more about if I stay another transfer here or not. Idk, it's 50/50. I could definitely stay and finish Sister Vander Werff's training, but I could definitely go since I've been here for 6 months. I would be fine either way! Bishop told me that IF I go, the ward will have a party for me next week. So sweet. He also told everyone in ward council to send President Barney an email saying that I should stay hahaha. Also, when we come back to visit, so many members have offered us places to stay at their homes so it's perfect! I love this area and ward so much. They have really come to be my family. 

Vivek is still progressing! He goes to the single adult scripture study class every week now too. Haha he like really wants to get married in the temple to a nice lady, like really bad. It's so funny. We have to set a date with him THIS WEEK.

I had exchanges this week with the other sisters in my zone. I never thought that serving a mission would mean that I would literally have to counsel other sisters, but holy cow! It's taught me a lot about how to listen and follow the spirit when helping and teaching. I feel like this might be what it's like to be a parent. Haha I'm like the mom of the sisters who need help! But I love them and I have learned a lot.

Sister Vander Werff is progressing very well. We made it a goal that whenever we say a negative comment about anything, we have to do 10 pushups right then. She's also really easy to tease, so I looooove teasing her (in a nice way I promise haha). But I love her to death, she is teaching me so much. We pretty much can't really relate on anything, so it makes it very interesting at times! 

That's pretty much all the highlights from this week. I have now mastered my handstands (see video in Google Photos). The next step is to walk on my hands. The Elders had an extra pull up bar in their apartment so we took that and now I'm working on my pull ups. They are very hard. Haha I figure that in my free time at night when I'm bored outta my mind, I will just try to learn new things. 

President Barney has said that no one can use Messenger or Google Hangouts anymore to talk to family or friends on P-Day, so now we are just back to the regular old email. Sorry.

Love you all so much! Good luck this week with everything going on. You guys are the best.

Xoxo Hermana Nissinen

One more story because it just happened last night. So our shower is sooo plugged. We are getting it fixed today, no worries. But the water from Sister Vander Werff's shower Sunday morning was still there Sunday night, and I didn't NOT want to shower standing in all of her bath water. The 4th ward elder's apartment is vacant as of right now, and the zone leader's have their spare keys. SO, I asked them if I could get them. They told me that the balcony of the 4th ward elder's apartment is unlocked so I can just jump up and go in. We went over there and I climbed up, but as I was helping Sister Vander Werff, this lady YELLED at us from the balcony right above us and said she is gonna call the police. I was like "Okay mam, we are just visiting our friends here and they told us to go up to their balcony to meet them." But then she kept yelling. Sister Vander Werff FREAKED OUT and ran away, so I jumped off and went to go find her but she had the phone and it was dark so we were separated for like 5 minutes which was the scariest thing ever. Anyways, I knew their door was for sure unlocked but I didn't even have the chance to try to open it and I didn't want to risk it so we just decided to finally go get the spare keys hahaha. So there's a crazy story for you! :)

46 degrees = SUMMER

Hey guys!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dad and Kim! I hope your days are wonderful and fun.

Wow, can you believe that a year ago Wednesday I left on my mission?? Holy smokes, I can't! I clearly remember my very first day, and it just doesn't make sense how that was a year ago. Honestly, I wish I was an Elder and was only halfway. I know 2 years may seem like a long ways away for you Joe, but it really does go by so quick. I am so excited for these next 6 months! I never thought I would make it to a year. Sitting in the CCM, or arriving in MN and having no idea what was going on, I looked at the older missionaries and thought "Wow, they are amazing and so tough to be out that long." Haha I still have no idea what I am doing, but I am loving it and learning a lot. 

So it's been a crazy week. Monday was a blast. Best P-day I've ever had. Nerf war, Chick Fil-A, white elephant gift exchange, and bowling. The rule was that we had to be in our beds at 10:30 PM, so Sister Vander Werff and I rolled up to our apartment at 10:25 PM and just ran into bed haha. Good times. 

Tuesday I had MLC all day. We drove up to Bloomington that morning and Sister Vander Werff went with other sisters while I sat in the conference! It was good though and I learned a lot. I came out of it really excited about missionary work and was excited to tell the other sisters in my zone about it. I feel like I am kinda like Dad in some ways. I'm very numbers driven, which I understand that numbers don't mean anything, but when we have to report our numbers of our zone and compare them with the other zones, it makes me want to work harder and exceed my goals. One of my least favorite things is when missionaries don't work hard and find maybe 2 or 3 new people in a month and say "It's just our area. There's no one here." UGH. Not true. God will help us find people or get people to church.

Sister Vander Werff is so funny oh my goodness. I really want you all to meet her someday. There's never a dull moment😂 At times it's been hard and I've really had my patience tested, but I just laugh it off and smile and it's a great time. She has been down with a cold the past few days, so I got some extra time to send out tons of texts and contact people that haven't been contacted in forever. It was good.

In the 4th ward here in Rochester, one of the elders went home this week and the other one got sent up to the cities, so there are currently no missionaries there. President Barney has asked that Sister Vander Werff and I take over their area the next 3 weeks.... ahhhhh! I'm trying to not freak out about everything haha. To say the least, it's been a bit overwhelming, but hey, whatever! Maybe their ward will feed us on the days we don't get fed haha :) 

We are really trying to focus on following the spirit when we go tracking. Often times I just want to go to a place where I haven't been before, but when we follow the spirit, sometimes we are sent to a place where I have already knocked. Sometimes we find someone new, and sometimes we don't. It's really cool. We have found some awesome, hopefully pretty interested people this week. 

On Saturday, a young 8 year old girl got baptized. We decided to invite everyone we were teaching to the baptism. 4 people came! It was so cool! It started at 1 PM, and no one that we had invited had shown up yet, but each of them trickled in in time for her to get dunked so they could see. Some Elder told me a statistic that if a nonmember comes to a baptism, there's an 80% chance of them getting baptized! I'm not sure if that's accurate, but it would be pretty dang awesome.

It's been VERY warm here lately. Members were telling us that a year ago at this time it was about 40-50 degrees colder than it is right now. I guess I shouldn't complain :) 

I am grateful we had the opportunity to fast yesterday. It was a very meaningful fast for me, and I just know that even through hard times in our family, we will be blessed. I'm not going to lie, lately I have struggled with worrying about things at home, but fasting yesterday helped me feel peace and comfort. I hope you have all felt that as well.

Have a great week! Enjoy going back to school ;) Safe travels.

Xoxo Hermana Nissinen

I love Pants!

Happy new year! 

Where did 2018 go?!?! Oh my goodness! I can't believe it is already 2019. This past week I have been reflecting on 2018. It was definitely the hardest, but most fulfilling and rewarding year I have had. There were many times where I didn't know what I was doing or who I was or even what I knew, but I am grateful for the experiences I have had, the friendships made, and my testimony of the gospel. 
I have also been racking my brain trying to think of goals for 2019. This is going to be a pretty crazy year for me and I don't even know what to plan for! 

It was so good to see you guys and talk to you last week. I'm sorry I didn't have much time to talk with Joe. But I'm glad to hear things are going well. I always keep you all in my prayers :)

This past week has been kinda different. Wednesday we drove up to Bloomington for New Missionary Training, and then stayed there until the next evening because we did an exchange with the Sister AP's. The weather was getting pretty bad as well and we were getting quite a bit of snow, so we decided to stay a few more hours that evening until it cleared up a bit to go home. 

Saturday morning, Renee went to the temple for the first time! She brought her own names and did baptisms. I got the opportunity to go with her. It was awesome! She baptized for her grandma and great grandma. Renee is literally the coolest. Dad, on the way home from St. Paul with her, I actually read her your conversion story. Her family is all against the church and her decisions as well so she is really struggling with that. I think she finds comfort in knowing she is not the only one.

Sister Vander Werff is always very sleepy, so when we get home at around 9 or 9:30 at night, she just goes right to sleep! I have nothing to do besides write in my journal, so I decided to practice doing handstands. I am very bad at them haha. It will take some work. 

Friday night we had a man named Vivek who we met tracting a few weeks ago and who we have been teaching come to the church for a tour! It was so great! I've really learned how important church tours are. Joe, if you can get your people to come to the church some evening and walk them around and show them everything, it's a really cool way to teach a lesson. We taught Vivek the Gospel of Jesus Christ by showing him the paintings and the baptismal font. He even came to church on Sunday as well! 

Today we have a night zone P-day, so all of us are getting together and we are going to have a Nerf gun war, play some sports, and probably go bowling. Should be a good time!

I have really had to lean towards the Book of Mormon this week on many occasions. When I am feeling lonely or unmotivated, I know I can turn to the scriptures to help me. I am focusing on studying 'joy' right now, and it's been so cool to see how the people in the scriptures felt joy and what they did. In 2nd Nephi 11, Nephi says many times "my soul delighteth...". He goes on to say that his soul delighted in His words, in proving unto the people the coming of Christ, and in the covenants of the Lord. I know that when I have these feelings of loneliness or unmotivation, I can find joy in focusing on my Savior, like Nephi. (You can obviously tell I am trying to liken the scriptures to myself lol).

I'm excited for this new Come, Follow Me program. Please make the time to do it every week! 

I love you guys. Thanks for your prayers, support, and love. It's gettin pretty chilly out here now! 

Happy New Year, 

Love Hermana Nissinen