Happy Monday!

April 28, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

We hope y’all are doing great!  Thank you to those of you who have written.  It brightens our days when we hear from you! I will give you an update on my health first.  Unfortunately not much has changed.  My eye is still the same,  double vision that moves around in my left eye. I am still very dizzy all of the time, and I had an MRI two weeks ago that confirmed that I have “frozen shoulder” in my left shoulder.  I’m still waiting to find out what I will be doing about  that.  I still go to physical therapy twice a week and my eye doctor felt confident that when I go see him next time ( 2 more weeks) that he will have some glasses ready for me that I should be able to see better with.  I really am grateful that with all of the things that could have gone wrong and could have been a permanent condition for me, that these are the only things I am struggling with.  Even though I still have my “pity party” days, I really am grateful and am grateful for the great medical help I am still getting.

    Today, Roy, Debbie and Anna came to see us.  It was SO much fun to see them.  They look wonderful!   They will be staying here for a few days and it has been fun today to visit and catch up with them.  We went to a mission presidents’ seminar this weekend and just returned late last night when we found out that Roy and Debbie needed to be picked up at the airport this morning.  We got our assistants to pick them up for us, as we had to leave by 7:00 AM to drive to Winchester where they were creating another branch. This Branch was created after only a few months of us assigning missionaries there. They went in and gathered less active members or returning members as we call them now and within a very few months with this gathering and baptisms there were over 100 people in this group ready to now become a Branch. It will be a ward before you know it.

Yesterday when we were in the Orlando Airport, we noticed a cute little  family walking by.  President McKee and some of the other presidents stopped to talk to them and then I heard the mom say in a rather loud voice” I prayed for you!” Come to find out this was Dr. Liljenquist  our last year’s mission doctor’s son, his wife and children.  He has been such a great support to me even since he returned to Idaho Falls, it was just a privilege to meet his great family and I’m sure it was NOT a coincidence! As I walked over to meet them, she hugged me and of course asked how I was doing.  She told me how she had prayed and fasted for me and didn’t ever think she would get the chance to meet me.  

Tonight I had another man who said the same thing “Sister McKee” I have been praying for you.  He said, “let me tell you of my experience.  I was deer hunting and was up in a tree when my wife called and said it was time to pray for Sister McKee”.  I  jumped out of the tree, got on my knees and prayed for you.  For the past several hours there were no deer in sight, but after I got up off of my knees, there were 3 deer standing right in front of me!”

  Organizing the Branch in Winchester  was an exciting event!.  Both President and I had to speak and then they had asked the girls to sing a special musical number.  They fed us lunch right afterwards and then we left and came home and got to spend some time with Roy and Debbie.  We then took the whole crew up to Hopkinsville where the Nashville Tribute Band was doing a missionary fireside.  We knew Roy would like that, which he did!

    Last week we took all of our senior couples (about 8 of them) on the General Jackson Luncheon Cruise ( a special preparation day).  It was a fun but very cold day.  As we were in the buffet line, the MC of the show came down and started talking to our assistants.  He asked them if they knew anyone who could sing.  He pointed to Kylie, Angie and Aubrey whom we had brought along. He said to him, “Tell them to get prepared to sing!”  Elder Horner told the girls while they were eating dinner and before they were  done, he announced that somewhere in the audience were three sisters who sing together and would they please come up on stage.  They went up  on stage and sang accapella “I Need Thee Every Hour”.  They really did a nice job.  On the chorus, they broke out in 3 part harmony and you could really feel the spirit!  It was a good experience for them.  

We now have 220 missionaries.  We have increased our numbers by about 80.  Our office couples have been efficient in finding apartments for them and we really do have some great missionaries here.  Three transfers ago we received 25 missionaries, the next one we got 24 with 7 visa waiters coming the following Monday.  It is a  lot of missionaries, but they are outstanding!   

   Miracles:

1) “Rosie came to church again yesterday!! She was crying during Sacrament Meeting…… we talked about what she was feeling. She said, "It just keeps getting more and more inspirational every time I come to church. I feel so much peace." Wow! We set a baptismal date with Rosie for May 24th (her mother's birthday). We are sooo excited and so is Rosie!”

2)   “In my mind I thought it was a total waste of time and that she was never going to be interested in the gospel. I guess you could say that the world was very stamped on her….. On Wednesday we had a lesson with her with one of the member's Sister Abren. Something just clicked during that lesson. The spirit was so strong and I found myself saying things that I did not think of myself. She committed to read from the Book of Mormon and we set up an appointment for the next day. On Thursday Sis V and I went over there are she was so excited to see us. She had read the first 10 chapters of the BOM and loved it. She wrote down a bunch of questions that we answered. She asked us why the people in Jerusalem were so mean to Lehi, so I explained that he was telling them that they weren't living right and he was telling them they needed to change. She said, "Oh that makes sense...I would be really mad if someone came in my house and told me that I needed to stop smoking or something like that".....uhh...Sister V and I look at each other panicked and decided we would talk about that another time. We gave her the restoration DVD to watch. That night she texted and said "I loved that movie, I wish it was longer, I've already watched it 3 times." WHAT! The next day we went back and taught her more and she was totally eating it up. She finished 1 Nephi in 2 days basically. In the middle of the lessons she said, "Oh guess what, I decided to stop smoking, this is my last pack!" We were blown away. We said nothing to her about the word of wisdom yet..but the spirit was working with her! In Preach My Gospel there is a quote by President Packer that says, "The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior" We saw that happen in Amber's life so clearly this week. She committed to come to church on Sunday. She, her husband, and there 3 kids all came to church and LOVED it. The lesson in gospel principles was on the Atonement and she cried. Her 14 yr old son had friends from school there, and the little kids loved primary. When they got the kids from primary they were crying because they didn't want to leave and the Dad said, "I promise we can come back next week." YAY It was so amazing. Her husband was baptized as a kid but has never been active so we basically have the entire family to teach. We are so excited for them. We stopped by last night and the feeling in their house is so different than it was last week. The spirit is starting to be there, and it is changing them! I learned that you cannot give up on people...because everyone needs the gospel!”

 

We love our family and how willing each of them have been to come out here and help me out. How we have appreciated ALL your help!!!!     We love this work and our missionaries.  We are so grateful to have a living prophet on the earth today. Tonight as we listened to the Nashville Tribute Band, I remembered tender feelings about the prophet Joseph Smith, the pioneers, and why I love missionary work.  They performed songs about each of them and it was very touching. I know this is HIS work and I love being a part of it.  

Have a great week, y’all!

Love,

President & Sister McKee, Dad & Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Bill & RaNae and,,,,, Angie, Aubrey, Kiara and Destini

April 14, 2013

April 14, 2013
Dear Family and friends,
     I haven’t been very consistent at writing lately, but hope to do better in the future!  Sure hope all of you are doing well. We have certainly loved hearing from many of you.  You cards and letters mean so much to me and to all of us!  It is spring time here in Brentwood, though it has taken awhile to get here.  The white Bartlett Pear trees have been blooming for several weeks now and the white blossoms have almost all turned green.  The light pink cherry trees are now blossoming and the very rich purple trees ( I still don’t know what they are called but they are beautiful!) It has been very warm during the day and still a bit chilly at night.

    Angie has been playing rugby and it feels like we are in Idaho watching baseball games with out blankets wrapped around us.  She has been phenomenal at rugby.  She had never played the game before this year, but every game she does better and better.  She came home last week with cleat marks in her thigh and she was very proud of them.  Her coach said she was a natural born athlete.  I agree.  She will be flying to Lehi on May 22 where she will graduate from high school there.  Her online distance education classes have been through American Heritage in Lehi, so she will be able to walk on that night with all of the other graduation seniors.  I’m so proud of her.  She has worked very hard—in spite of doing my jobs for the past few months.  That Angie is one of a kind.!!! I know that Heavenly Father knew  I would need her stabilizing influence in our family about now! I’m just not sure how I am going to get along without her.  She will be going to Fiji the last week of July.

Last Season game

   Kylie is coming out tomorrow for a week.  I am so grateful for my children who have sacrificed to come out to Nashville to assist their mom.   They will never know how much I appreciate it.  Mike was here for awhile,  Jared and Brittany came for a few weeks, and Michelle came leaving her boys with Travis and Grandma and Grandpa Draper.  They all have been such amazing help for me.  This past couple of weeks I have gotten Stacy Nemelke (my cousin Barre and Karen Burgon’s daughter) who is living here in Nashville while her husband is going to school to not only help me with the medical things for the missionaries, but to take me to my appointments and to help me whenever I need something.  She is a doll and has helped me a lot.

  I am still doing pretty well.  Except for my left eye, my dizziness and my left arm, I am pretty much all back to normal.  A couple of weeks ago, one of our 1st assistants, Elder Adams, called me.  When he was 2 he had cancer in one of his eyes and had to have a glass eye put in.  When he called me, he said,”  So Sister McKee, how are you doing?”  I told him I was doing great except for my left eye---I see double and everything moves around that isn’t really moving!  Elder Adams said, “Oh Sister McKee, did you forget all of those things I used to tell you?  He said, First of all, eyes are over rated.  You have one good one, that’s all you need.  Then he reminded me in D & C 4:5 that it says, “And faith, hope, charity, and love, with an eye single to the glory of God qualify him for the work.”
He said, “You see, it says EYE not EYES and you have everything you need to be qualified for the work.
I have to say that he made me feel better.
I am still attending physical therapy twice a week and I think they are doing a good job there.  I have to have an MRI on my shoulder—they told me I have frozen shoulder, but now they think it is my rotator cuff.  My eyes are still about the same, in that I can’t really see very well at all.  When I use my reading glasses, I can see SOME things but it is a challenge.  My eye doctor has me doing some eye exercises that are trying to force my eyes to diverge, but I’m not doing very good with them!

Mama McKee speaking to her missionaries. 

Two transfers ago we got in 25 new missionaries, last Monday, we were supposed to be getting 14 but two days before transfers, Salt Lake called us and said we were getting 10 visa waiters along with out 14.  And we are getting 7 more visa waiters today.  This is always exciting, but the logistics of it all makes for some stressful days.  Double the food, apartments, companions, where do we put them the night they generally stay in the mission home, etc…………and on top of it all President has to interview each one of them.  The group we got in last Monday was an amazing group though and we are grateful to have each one of them.  We actually got 2 from Pocatello,  Aubrey Kepler and Elder Williams.  Sharp missionaries!!!   Our baptisms seems to keep climbing and the wards and branches out here are growing.  It is very exciting. President and I are going to our next Mission Presidents’ Seminar the end of this month.

New Missionaries in the TNM

Miracles in the Great TNM:
1) I went to my orthopedic doctor about my arm and he said, “RaNae, I don’t believe in miracles.  I never have believed in miracles.  But I see you sitting here today after having seen you many times when you were in the hospital and YOU ARE A MIRACLE!  Sitting right here in front of me! I can’t believe you are even alive, let alone walking around doing what you are doing.

We had to go to Monteagle to CVS to get some perscriptions, our goal for the trip was to give eight people we met
the card "Finding Faith in Christ", give out four Books of Mormon, visit two members, and visit a referral we had.
Passed out twelve cards, got one invite to come to their home,  found where the referral lives, fond one member had moved and one that invited us back. While at CVS we gave four cards and got one invite to visit.(Sr. couple)

“ Remember when we sang to Dawn in Taco Bell "I Know that My Redeemer Lives?" Well, the next day we went to find a couple members who we didn't know anything about, and came across Bob. He is not a member, but lives in the house of one of those members whom we were looking for who moved. Well we got on the topic of doing awkward things and Elder Webb shared this story with Bob of singing in Taco Bell, and he though for a second and asked which Taco Bell. We told him the one, and he said, "All my buddies in the Army were talking about you today." We started laughing and couldn't believe it. We were the talk of the army post that day. So crazy!”

“we had 8 total investigators come to General Conference with us! It was awesome!”

“ Lesson number one "Compromise"  Just because I am the senior companion doesn't mean you opinion doesn't matter.  We are a team and with that statement that also mean I have to trust you and listen to what you have to say some times. “

“We still have 5 dates set but I’m not settling at that. We have around 35 potential investigators that we have met this last transfer and about 15 -20 investigators who we haven't set a date with for some strange reason but we will do that ASAP! The more people the Lord gives us means the more time we need to spend preparing and keeping a record and plan for them.”

“ we had 5 investigators watch general conference at the church,”

“ We had 5 investigators at church which is the most we have ever had so far. …. That makes 4 dates so far and we are hoping to set at least two more this week. It truely is Missionary Fun,”

“First off Kristin got baptized even through all the opposition that came her way. Her husband Alex has mentioned a desire to be baptized as well, which is amazing to see his progress from atheist to thirsting for truth. It really was quite the miracle getting Kristin to her baptism. It was a testimony builder of faith and pray.”

How we love this work!!!    And what a blessing  for us that we are able to stay out here in Tennessee and work with these amazing missionaries.  Everyday there are miracles that we tend to take for granted and as we acknowledge the hand of the Lord in all things and watch for his “tender mercies”  we will be happy. My testimony of the Book of Mormon has grown so much since we have been in the mission field.  There are promises for all of us in that great book—it is up to us to put them to the test.  I know the Lord will not let us down.  This is an amazing church and gospel that we have.  I love it and know of its truthfulness.  May y’all have a great week!
Love  y’all!,
President and Sister McKee,  Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Bill and RaNae and Angie, Aubrey, Kiara and Destini,

TNM Mission update:

To family and friends,

We are continually receiving blessings of healing and miracles continue to happen in a variety of ways. Sister McKee is still marching forth. She is a bit frustrated at her progress with her eye and dizziness but I keep reminding her that she only remembers the past  weeks while we all remember her hospital stay and the incredible progress that she has been making. Her headaches have subsided substantially. We are dealing now mostly with balance issues and sight. She still sees everything double and triple . They have made a black contact for one eye which will help somewhat so that she walks with a patched eye in a sense. This helps her function in groups and helps somewhat with the dizziness. She is weak still and must take breaks during the day as the chest pain reoccurs quite often with any stress throughout the day. She has become very wise on balance and what she can and cannot do. I have to say that I am completely amazed at how independent that she has become. We are still dealing with some left arm abilities but other than that she handles things very well. The Lord has been so good to us and we acknowledge all of you for your prayers and faith. I told Sister McKee not too long ago that the Lord might be worried about all of these prayerful people praying on her behalf and had to send her back to us. She is truly a miracle as are all of you.

We continue to be involved in the hastening of the work. I am sure that many of you picked up from General Conference the big push on the missionary effort (FUN) and hope that you are having success in your own individual areas. We have received over 60 missionaries in our last two transfers and will receive 7 more tomorrow only one week after our last transfer. We are so blessed but I can say that it taxes every area of the mission as we work so hard to find living quarters for all, trainers for all, transportation for all and medical arrangements for all. When you think of 65,000 young men and women out serving throughout the world , with an additional 20,000 who have received their calls, it is one of the most exciting things happening on this earth. We have the greatest message on the earth and the world certainly needs it now more than any other time.

Here in the Tennessee Nashville Mission we have a new ward being formed in the Franklin Stake next week and a new Branch being organized in the McMinnville Stake with one more on the horizon in Hopkinsville and one in Cookeville. It is so exciting to see that the chapels are full here with such a need to expand and build others. We actually have one Stake now that you can drive across in less than 20 minutes which has been unheard of out here as the wards and stakes cover such a large geographical area. Many of our stakes have high counselors that travel 1-3 hours to a high council meeting. This is changing rapidly though as the wards are divided and the church continues to grow. We really do have a shortage of meetinghouses which becomes our greatest challenge.

Over the last three weeks we have held a Spanish conference for our Spanish missionaries. We have around 30 Spanish missionaries which cover 12 -14 Branches and ward. The local Spanish ward has around 400 members in it with surrounding Branches that have any where from 30-200 members in them. The Spanish work is very strong here. We also held our zone leader training which has now turned in to Missionary Leadership training as so many Sisters have entered the field. We have always invited 5 Sisters to come to this training in the past as I believed that their input was so valuable for the mission. The new program will have Sister Leader Trainers that will come from each zone to this monthly training meeting. We finished interviewing over 200 missionaries over the last few weeks and loved every minute of traveling through the mission and meeting with each missionary individually.

Two weeks from now the Nashville Tribute Band is going to put on four firesides throughout the mission in an effort to invite those who have ears to hear about the Gospel. They perform throughout the world. One of their members is in the band “Diamond Rio” and has performed for many years with them. They have written songs about the gospel and about missionary service. The spirit reaches so many people through them and they are doing this all for free.

Last night Nathan Pacheco performed in Nashville. He is a singer , similar to Josh Groben who has performed all over the world. He lives here in Nashville with his family and is in our Stake. If you are interested in him at all look him up on utube. He is the heart throb of many women in the world and serves here in his ward in a very humble way. He is a great example of a Latter Day Saint throughout the world.

Michelle flew back home to Wyoming last week. We so appreciated her help. She drove Sister McKee to out patient therapy when needed and to other areas. We so appreciate the sacrifice of her family for being here. Sister McKee is doing so much better in this new out patient rehab program. The Vanderbilt out patient rehabe Pi beta Phi kept wanting her to use a walker which she is determined not to use and she has done so much better in this new rehab. It is a Baptist rehab in Cool Springs. Kylie will be flying out tomorrow for her spring break and that will be a wonderful help to Sister McKee and the family. Thank you.

We are so grateful for the Book of Mormon and continually find people who love the Bible who would also love the teachings of Christ in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon, testifies of Christ, it teaches of Christ  and stands as a witness to Christ in these the latter days. Anyone who loves the Bible will love the Book of Mormon as it reinforces so many of the teachings of Christ in the Bible and continue to serve as a second witness of this  wonderful Book. How grateful we are in these latter days to have a second witness about Christ and a prophet called in these latter days. We were so blessed to hear the prophets and Apostles at conference time and find such value in being trained by them. The Lord is mindful of each of us and carefully guides us to truth each day. We challenge each of you to continually read in the Book of Mormon and discover the beautiful truths that exist there and the answers to questions of the soul. We know that this Book is true and are so happy that there is a second witness of Jesus Christ and His atonement. We love the Bible and the Book of Mormon and know that they go hand in hand and that the Lord’s truths are taught through them. Thank you again for your love and support. Thank you for your faith. Thank you for your dedication to the Lord and His gospel.

Love, President and Sister McKee, Angie, Aubrey, Kiara, and Destini, ie Grandma and Grandpa, DAD and MOM

Happy Easter!

Dear Friends and family,

Having just experienced a beautiful Easter I found myself sitting in the congregation at the sacrament table again counting my blessings and handing another mountain over to the Lord that seemed impossible to bear. Each Sunday I am grateful for the Savior’s atonement and the symbolic way that He allows us to experience a portion of that atonement as we renew covenants with Him and pass along to Him things that we really do not have control over. I have contemplated today how many years that I have spent worrying and wishing for some things to change that were completely out my control when in fact I could use that same energy putting faith in the Lord and trusting that He will make everything whole as He has promised. The sacrament is a symbolic way each Sunday that we can meditate about our efforts during the week and then ultimately laying the balance before the Lord with faith that He will take care of the rest. If our Savior would not have gone through His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane we would not be experiencing Easter or the sacrament. Again , How grateful I am to Him who made it possible for each of us to be healed in our suffering and sorrows and to be cleansed of sin.

Over the last two weeks we have traveled to every corner of the mission and interviewed each of our missionaries (207).Each missionary comes from an entirely different background. Some are newly baptized, some have been trained in the gospel all of their lives, some are recently activated while others have been given many double messages while growing up. All have in common a desire to serve the Lord and teach His word.  Each missionary carries some burdens and each carries with them the excitement of a “new spring” where one can start over and rededicate their lives to serve Him. While visiting with them I am always in awe at their individual commitment to the Savior and their determination to serve Him for two years or 18 months. Each starts out with some reservation and fear but quickly replaces it with faith as they realize who they really are and that the Lord has set them apart from the world to declare His word and “invite all to come unto Christ”. As they begin to see who they really are and that the Lord has called them they begin to realize their true potential. They become confident in the Lord, confident in the spirit and confident in their message and realize that it really has nothing to do with them and the success begins to happen. The message that we carry is so important. There could be nothing more important in these latter days than to have a book that is a second witness of Christ. This is a day where all need to have faith in Him and turn toward Him.

Friday night the Nashville Interfaith Choir held an Easter Concert in the Green Hills chapel and asked me to give the Easter message for it. They sang beautifully and again reinforced the beautiful message of the atonement through music. The Lord has given us so much and only asked in return that we are obedient and that we take care of His children. He wants us to turn the other cheek, Forgive 7 times 70. Love one another, Bear one another’s burdens. Seek first the kingdom of God. Lift where we stand. It is the least that we can do as we try to become more like Him especially after all that He has done for us.

Dr. Webber, Elder Hymas, Elder Nelson, Sister McKee (Dec. 2012)

On Sunday a tear filled my eye again as Sister McKee was asked to speak about the atonement and unconditional love. She was assisted to the pulpit and then humbly gave a masterful talk which was spirit filled. I sat in awe as I realized again how far she had come and how beautiful her mind was working. She is still so weak and yet so determined. We  have gone over a week without carrying around a basin for her nausea. Each day she becomes a little more independent. After her talk Angie, Aubrey, Kiara, Destini and Michelle sang a song with Sister McKee playing at the piano. They all did amazing. We had a young man named DJ that was sitting next to us in church. He had been introduced to the gospel of Jesus Christ only the day before. He said to me. “I just feel goose bumps when I am in this church”. I said, “ That is the spirit of the Holy Ghost telling you that this message is true. You are going to love this gospel”.

This is a picture of Sister McKee and her new IPAD. It helps when we walk and it only costs 2.99
(March 2013)

We found out today that we are going to get 24 new missionaries next Monday. We had 14 coming at first and then the MTC called and they are sending us 6 Visa waiters going to Denmark and 4 going to Brazil. Finding 24 new trainers will be a wonderful quest within the mission again. Almost half of our missionaries are training or being trained. It changes the dimensions of the mission so quickly. Our baptisms are doubling and the members here are so enthusiastic with sharing the gospel with their neighbors. They are inviting so many friends to come to church. Two weeks ago we organized a Young Single Adult Branch in Murfreesboro. There were 115 in attendance and next month we will organize a new Branch in Winchester. We have a Senior couple there that are assisting in gathering less active members and have gathered a group of 85 together. We love the Lord and love this work.

Thank you again for your prayers and faith . Sister McKee is in out patient therapy and is still progressing. We pray for her eye every day that it will resume back to its normal position and that everything will not be seen as double but in the mean time we thank the Lord that she is with us and that she is healing.

Love to all,

President and Sister McKee

Howdy from Tenn-- and Happy St. Patty's day!

March 17, 2013

Dear Family and friends,

     Happy St. Patricks Day!  And Happy Birthday to our grandson Peter tomorrow.  He will be 5.  Amazing!   He is such a cute kid and is growing up so fast.   I apologize for the long span since I last wrote our family email. Most of you already know I was in a coma from the last of November until the middle of December, during which I underwent 2 strokes, 1 heart attack, brain surgery, heart surgery and one cardiac arrest all within 5 days of each other.  I am very blessed to even be alive today and though I do not ask for sympathy, I do ask for your understanding.  These past few months have truly been a challenge for our family.  I personally have no memory of anything from the first of November on, which is sad because we have had many friends and family members who came out to visit and help me.   All 10 of our children and all 11 of our grandsons were here for Christmas and Grandpa McKee and Jim also came out but  I unfortunately have no memory of that at all.  When I came out of the coma in December, I used to write November as the date on everything.  I not only missed Thanksgiving Day this year, but Christmas and New Year’s Day, too.  I also missed my birthday, so I tell everyone that I am still a year younger!   They tell me that Aubrey got her drivers’ license, Destini sang a solo for a 50s concert at school and participated in Winter Olympics, Kiara hosted the play Oklahoma and handmade 10 signs for it, 2 Apostles came  to visit our mission along with other General Authorities and a whole host of other things happened “while I was sleeping”. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to believe but I’ll trust them. It seems like I missed many major activities but they tell me I was there for many of them.

   Right now I am doing pretty well.  I have an eye that isn’t working that I am seeing an eye doctor for.  I see double and sometimes even triple vision in my left eye, but Dr. Politser has no doubt that in time I will regain full eyesight in my eyes.  I also have a balance problem—it is very difficult to walk without running into something. My family has been so wonderful to help.  Jared and Brittany have been out here for 3 months helping me with his training  as a physical therapist and Michelle got here this week and she will be staying for a few weeks.  I am so grateful for my great husband and family who have supported me and fought for me during the past few months.

  It has been beautiful here in Brentwood during the past couple of days, but pretty cold the week previous.  Today we took our family out walking around Radnor Lake and it was just beautiful. The therapy walking out there is certainly better than my out patient therapy. Aubrey sang a solo ,the national anthem for the girls basketball game preparing for state,  Angie played in her first Rugby game Friday night and did a great job (that’s from an onlooker who knows absolutely nothing about Rugby, but I could see by the scoreboard that they won!).  We got the news last week and she, and Kylie, are both planning to go on missions in August.  That will be exciting for them AND for us. 

We all want to thank each of you for the love and support you have given our family in so many different ways., cards, letters, prayers, phone , calls, etc…….  We feel SO blessed 1) to have a second chance at life itself, 2) to have so many wonderful people in our lives who support us and love us and show it so valiantly!

Last transfer we received 25 new missionaries plus 6 new visa waiters.  We currently have 205 missionaries here in the great TNM.  We have 85 sisters and 120 Elders.  The look of our mission has certainly changed, but we have the greatest missionaries in the world.

Have a great week and remember our love and appreciation for each of you. Our testimonies are real and strong.  We have no doubt that the Lord is there and that He loves us and cares for us.  We also know that he hears and answers prayers.  

Loads of love,

President and Sister McKee,  Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Bill & RaNae, Angie, Aubrey, Kiara, Destini, and Michelle

Angie, Aubrey, Kiara, Destini and Michelle

Yes! You Can--Receive ALL That Heavenly Father Has in Store For Us:

Dear Friends and Family,

Over the past few weeks we have been very involved with temple trips here for our missionaries. Twice a year our missionaries are invited to go to the temple since we have a temple in Nashville. The temple is small so this constitutes going to ten sessions so that each missionary can attend. The  temple is only open for a few hours each day and so we adjust around their schedule and bring the missionaries in from across the mission over five days. They love going to the temple. This gives a time for Sister McKee and I to talk to them about the temple and also remind them that we are here serving the living for this era in our lives and only on occasion can serve the dead. The temple always reminds me of family sealings and the blessing of being with our families forever and ever. I can’t even imagine eternity without our blessed families. Each of us have the wonderful opportunity to come to the temple and receive our endowments and seal families together for time and all eternity. Sometimes people will say to our missionaries, “but we can’t go in there.” Our answer to them is that EVERYONE can go in there. We must just prepare ourselves first much like we prepare ourselves to graduate from High School so that we can go to college. No one can go to college either unless they go through the proper preparation to go there and college is open to all if we prepare ourselves for it. The temple is the Lord’s university and it is essential that we prepare ourselves worthily before we make and keep those sacred covenants.

Sister McKee is still progressing every day. She is absolutely a walking miracle. At present we have several days now without nausea or severe headaches. This is so exciting for all of us as it changes her processing of life and her abilities to be out more. We never went anywhere in the past without a safety pan for nausea and our “peppermint” essential oil(thank you to those who sent those to us). She now goes longer periods without an upset stomach and even attended the temple twice last week. This was a miracle for all of us and such a blessing to be back in the temple again.

We visited the eye doctor on Tuesday and he tells us that she is still progressing and will in time be fitted with some type of glasses that may help her. Her eye moves about 80% now but because it is still off she is always plagued with double vision. She is playing the piano more while wearing a patch. Her right eye sees beautifully so with the patch she gets fairly independent. We do eye exercises with her 4-5 times a day.

On Monday our oldest daughter , Michelle flew in to stay for a few weeks. This is such a blessing, Jared and Brittany flew back home to Idaho with Ethan and Kason on Wednesday. This was a sad day for us as they have stayed long and been so helpful in therapy. Brittany received the news that her grandmother had passed away who we all love. We extend our sympathy to her family and want you to know of our deep love for you. I know that Brittany was very close to her grandmother and this will be difficult knowing that she was out here helping us while her grandmother was ill. We love and appreciate you and your family (Brittany) .Jared with his physical therapy back ground has taught us so much and done so much for his mother while staying here. We will always be grateful for the foundation that you have set with her healing. Early in Sister McKee’s healing Jared mentioned that we should never allow the brain to think that it cannot do something if there is a desire. For example, while in the hospital, if Sister McKee wanted to get out of bed, the medical model did not have the resources so she would not be allowed to get out of bed. We would stay by her night and day and make sure that if her brain wanted to do something that we assisted her instead of telling her that she could not do that. This allowed us each day to expand her brain and encourage it to follow through with the drive that was behind it. The medical model would think that unsafe because they could not always be there so they would put bells on her bed or even tie arms and legs down so that she would not get up and get hurt. As a family we made a commitment to always be there and ensure that whatever she could imagine she could do so that her brain would not be limited and so that she would feel that anything is possible. We have learned so much from this but most of all learned that it is working as Sister McKee is coming back quicker than most rehab patients. Interestingly enough though we are discovering that often the medical model does not always appreciate this and often focused in rehab on what she could not do instead of what she could do. I have found this so interesting though as I think about how we (the natural man) often focuses on what we cannot do instead of what we can do. It is so easy to focus on our limitations instead of our eternal potential and our God like abilities.

For example , Sister McKee has never wanted to use a walker while her brain is healing so we carefully planned to be at her side 100% of the time so that she can practice walking without a walker. This at first required constant support and now she walks freely with only an occasional nudge back on track. She brought her church shoes to practice walking in at rehab one day and they quickly told her that she could not do that., Well she has been doing that and doing it very nicely , she just wanted more safe practice with their support. As I witnessed them very often reminding her about what she could not do, I wondered in my mind how many times I had done that to myself or others and how debilitating that could be.

I met with the supervisor of the rehab unit and asked, “Do you think that Sister McKee can heal completely?” His response was, “Well now we need to be realistic here”. I asked him again and he remained silent. I realized at that point that the medical model often tells us to be more realistic and often limits our growth while in this fragile state. I contemplated a young child and how sometimes we tell them so many “cant’s or no’s” and then thought, if my child really wanted to do something or practice something , would I tell them “no” .  I immediately realized that part of Sister McKee’s frustration was that they were often telling her what she could not do instead of believing that she could heal fully and that she needed to focus on what she could do safely. Her PT has pushed her to go back to a walker  but this again will only limit her as we have set her life up to be safe.

I thought how our Heavenly Father has sent each of us down here on earth with no limitations to return back to Him. He has charted the course that we might return to Him . He has marked the path and then he has given us the promise that “all that He hath” will be given to us if we receive Him. D&C 84:38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom therefore ALL that my Father hath shall be given unto him.”  I wondered if I really believe that scripture. That ALL that my Father hath will be given unto me. I know that the Lord promises us complete and full healing. I know that we can all be whole through the atonement and that we can receive all of the blessings that HE has in store for us if we do not limit ourselves. I looked at Sister McKee’s vision of walking without a walker or practicing in her church shoes and realized that she sees herself with no limitations and trusts in the Lord and herself for complete healing. When the world tells us that we can’t , each of us have a huge responsibility to say to ourselves, “the Lord can” . All things are possible through Him and that He has promised us ALL.

A few weeks before we were leaving to come to Tennessee on the mission Sister McKee woke up in the night and said to me, “ Do you think we can really do this?” My reply was, “Of course we can’t , but the Lord can and somehow HE will use us to accomplish His work”.

Trust in the Lord , He has promised us His ALL. He will come through for us as we listen to Him and not to the world. The world will tell us things that we “can’t”, The Lord will tell us things that we “Can”.

We love you and thank you again for your faith , prayers and “cans” along the way. We feel that positive energy and that love. We acknowledge the Lord for performing this great miracle.

The William McKee family

Howdy From Tennessee...

To our Friends and family,

The last two weeks have been filled with excitement and very long days as we are seeing the wonderful results of President Monson’s revelation that invited 18 year old young men and 19 year old young women to fulfill full time missions. After a full week of Zone Conferences we prepared for transfers. We received 25 new missionaries last Monday and only 7 are going home. This is the pattern now that the number in our mission will be increased. We have over 200 missionaries now and will receive an additional 50 missionaries within the next few months. We will have 136 Sisters and 114 Elders besides our Senior couples. Again the mission will have a larger number of Sisters than Elders.

We went out to the airport to pick up the 25 missionaries Monday afternoon at 2:30. You can only imagine the sight of that many missionaries stepping off the plane and into the airport. Needless to say everyone was staring at them. I always pull the missionaries aside and say to them as they arrive. “Everyone is starring at you anyway, Go up and talk to them and tell them who you are and what you are doing here.” We have found so many wonderful investigators at the airport and like Sister McKee always says, “ There is such a light around all of you whenever we see you.” She is right you know. The spirit dwells around obedient missionaries. I wish I could have a video of this group trailing through the airport with their luggage. There is not another sight on earth like it and it always brings tears to my eyes when I see these young committed people to the gospel. They are a “light unto the world”. The real challenge for me is to get them all interviewed before nightfall so that the spirit can tell me where they are to serve.

Even with the best laid plans there were two Sisters and two Elders that had their flights over booked and they did not come in with the group. There planes would arrive from four different areas at four different times. One even had his luggage on a different plane than he had flown so we ended up going to the airport several times during the evening. The last to arrive came at 11:00 pm at night. I drove out to pick him up because I always want my missionaries to be met by their Mission President at the airport and because I wanted my other missionaries to get some rest as all of us would be up again at 5:00am the next morning. Of course they lost his luggage so by the time we filed a claim we arrived back home after midnight. We call it sleeping fast when you only have a few hours to sleep so that night I slept fast and told the Elder to do so as well. He had been up since 3:00 am from the MTC . Even though we have a large mission van that transports 12 people we do not have enough transportation for a group this size so we had to call up three Senior couples to come in and drive missionaries to their trainings. On Tuesday we leave the Mission Home at 7:15 and travel to the Franklin Stake Center for training. This time 8 of the Sisters had to stay at a member neighbor’s home as we only had one bathroom for 18 Sisters. After we car-a-vanned to the Stake Center we were blessed to train and hold transfer meeting. What an incredible sight to see 25 new missionaries lined up across the cultural hall floor with 25 new trainers at their sides.  We are truly experiencing a “marvelous work and a wonder” . The world will never be the same again. These new missionaries are prepared and such a blessing to us here in the field.

Sister McKee Teaching The Missionaries about "Vision"

Sister McKee teaching about having unity has companionship's.

Janet, JoLynn, President and Sister McKee at Zone Conference

Sister McKee came out to the transfer meeting with Jared at 11:30 and shared her testimony with the Elders. She has energy to do small moments with the missionaries and then must go home again to rest. Some days she is extremely strong and we are all in awe for example like the video of her teaching the YW how to lead music in  our home for mutual we have attached to this email and other days the pain is so bad and the nausea that she will remain in bed most of the day. She can stand without assistance and can walk but one ever knows when she will fall over with no real warning so we always have someone at her side 24 hours of the day. She will go sometimes three days without losing her food but often feels like her food will constantly come up. As we work with her to focus on a focal point and use peppermint (essential oil) we have been successful most of the time to help her keep her food down. She was able to go through the temple for the first time last Friday but she had to come home and rest for 5 hours afterward because of the energy that it takes to do this.

After the transfer meeting  I interview the missionaries going home. We are always sad to see them go home. Our zone leader and Facebook assistant is going home this transfer and another special missionary went home this time who had lost his father while serving in the mission field. He was a wonderful example of faith as he continued to serve while going through this tragedy. He flew home and spoke at the funeral and then flew back to the mission field. We took them all through the temple, had dinner, testimony meeting  and mission slide show with them and then took them all to the airport at 5:00 am the next day.

President and Sister McKee at transfer meeting

On Friday we started a new round of temple experiences for our missionaries as each will have the opportunity to go through the temple 2-3 times a year. We will take them in groups of 25 through the temple for the next two weeks on Wednesday and Friday with each day serving about 50 in two separate sessions. We love to attend the temple with them. Sister McKee was only able to make it to one session but each day she becomes a bit stronger.

One week ago on Saturday we were blessed to have Elder Dallin Oaks and Elder Richard Maynes speak to our missionaries. They each shook their hands and taught them for over an hour. We were all so touched by their visit and want you to know that the spirit testified to each of us of their divine callings. Sister McKee was able to attend and shared her testimony. She also played for the girls to sing which was a miracle. She has to play with a patch over one eye as her left eye still does not work well. Everything is double vision from that eye. All 200 of our missionaries were in attendance. There were over 30 missionaries who had never met Sister McKee before and as they came through the line to shake hands tears filled many of our eyes. Sister McKee sat in a chair next to me and greeted all 200. Her life truly is a miracle. All of the missionaries were so excited to see her. I told her afterward that I am afraid she might have been upstaging an Apostle for some. They do love her so much.

Elder Oaks taught so man powerful principles. He encouraged the missionaries to keep their lines in the water at all times as he used an analogy of taking his grandchildren fishing. The message was clear for them as they are now “fishers of men”. He talked about the Priesthood and reminded us all that the men are not the Priesthood. He used an example of sometimes at church we will say. The Priesthood go into this room and the Sisters go into this room. He reminded us that the Priesthood goes with the men and the Priesthood goes with the Sisters into another room as well. We as men happen to be holding the handle of the umbrella of the Priesthood. It is over all.

Several of our missionaries brought investigators with them to this meeting and they committed to “follow the Savior and be baptized by one holding the proper Priesthood authority” during and after the meeting. Elder Dallin H. Oaks stated in Preach My Gospel Pg. 9 “ We do not preach and teach in order to bring people in the Church or to increase the membership of the Church. We do not preach and teach just to persuade people to live better lives… We invite all to come unto Christ by repentance and baptism and confirmation in order to open the doors of the Celestial Kingdom to the sons and daughters of God. No one else can do this.”

We are so blessed to have a living prophet on the earth today and Apostles that travel the earth bearing witness of the Savior. Elder Christofferson told us in his last visit that as missionaries , we are his companions to spread the message of the gospel throughout the whole world.  All who have ears to hear will hear the message.

President and Sister McKee with ICU Nurse, Carolynn, after Church 

Many of our missionaries commented on this wonderful day. I have included two paragraphs from two missionaries that wrote to me this week:

 “The Elder Oaks Visit was AWESOME!!! A miracle followed right afterward: The investigator we brought (Stanton) sat next to us and listened quietly. Your testimony in particular struck him hard. I felt impressed to commit him right then and there and turned to him when it was over and asked: "Do you think he is a man of God?" (referring to both you and the general authorities present) "Yes, definitely" "Will you be baptized by proper authority?" "Yes I'll do that" "Does next Saturday work for you?" "Ya, that'll be awesome". What better way to set a date? He's especially excited about the priesthood so he can bless his family and were aiming toward the temple so they can be sealed. Man Missionary work is so COOL!!!”

“We were able to bring our Catholic investigators to the Elder Oaks visit.  We arrived early (the first ones there) so we took a brief tour of the building.  That was incredible.  They loved the Young Women's Theme and the role of the Relief Society.  They enjoyed meeting the 196 missionaries in attendance.  Most important, they were inspired shaking Elder Oaks hand and the messages that were shared.  They told us they came with some questions and left with a lot more.  We have a follow up visit tonight.”  

We continue to climb the mountain , one foot after another and hope that all of you will do this as well headed in the direction of the Savior.

Today is Sunday and has not been a great day for Sister McKee. She is having severe pains again and had to be in bed most of the day an unable to attend church. We will try again next week and like all of you will do our very best to do what the Lord has called us to do. We are so blessed again to have our children with us supporting us so that we can fulfill this mission. We have included today some incredible highlights of Sister McKee on a high energy day and hope you enjoy them. She has come so far and is doing so much. We love you and thank you again for your faith and prayers. Like Nephi “We will go and do what the Lord has commanded” .

With love and appreciation,

The William McKee family