McKee Homecoming: Tennessee Nashville Mission

On Sunday Aug. 18th, 2013 we had the privilege of attending the homecoming and mission report of President William and Sister Ranae McKee. They recently returned from the Tennessee Nashville Mission where they served as leaders from July 2011 – July 2013. This was no ordinary homecoming. It was a miracle.

The McKee’s are parents of 10 beautiful children. When they received their mission call to serve, five of their children were still school-aged and living at home, so there were seven McKee’s In Tennessee.

They had no idea what joys and trials lay ahead, but they would soon learn the true meaning of sacrifice, and serving with “all” their might, mind and strength in the cause of the Lord.

I have blogged about the McKee’s in the past. They are close to my heart. In December 2012 my daughter “Sister A” received her mission call to the Tennessee Nashville Mission. Naturally we eagerly searched online for more info about her mission and her mission President. That was when we learned that Sister McKee, a healthy 55 year young woman had suffered two strokes and two heart attacks on Thanksgiving week, and was lying in a coma in a hospital bed, and she was near death! We were moved to tears as we read the family blog, and I asked my own readers to please Pray for Sister McKee in Tennessee!

And you did!

You joined in prayer and fasting with thousands of others across the nation and across the world.

Slowly, painstakingly, step-by-step, against all odds and known medical science, Sister McKee began to heal. As a professionally trained pianist and organist, Sister McKee re-learned how to play a keyboard and her daily scales and music became a powerful part of her therapy. After spending 70 days in the hospital, 37 of those days being in the Intensive Care Unit, Sister Ranae McKee was released and returned to the mission home on Feb. 1, 2013. Her treatment has been ongoing as she works on recovering her eyesight. We feel eternally blessed that she was there to welcome our daughter to the mission at the end of February!

Sister McKee’s miraculous recovery has been featured in local Tennessee news, and in Utah news, and her story has been told throughout the world via Social Media. We still pray for her and President McKee and their beautiful family each day. We have grown to love and treasure them beyond words. On Sunday we finally had the chance to actually meet them in person, hug them, and feel of their Christlike love. It was a beautiful day both physically and spiritually. So many of the TNM returned missionaries attended! I felt like I was back in the mission field again attending a zone conference – especially when they all gathered together and sang their special mission song.

Here is a little video that I have created of the day. Enjoy!

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?

…And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.”

Moroni 7,  The Book of Mormon

Related articles

• Miraculous healing for LDS mission President’s wife in Tennessee (desnews.com)
• Missionary’s stroke recovery difficult, but faith, family help (tennessean.com)
• Pray For Sister McKee in Tennessee (MormonSoprano.com)