January 12, 2015 - Boxing Like a Champion

Wa,

I'm leaving Scotchtown! Sad, sad day. But mostly, my heart is filled with gratitude for the time I have been able to serve here. I love this area with my whole self! The people are so unique and amazing. They have changed my life.

Brother Hernandez is sooo ready to get baptized! He studies for about an hour every morning, and he knows all about the lessons before we even teach them. It's awesome! This week, we were talking about enduring to the end, and he said. "It is like with boxing. It doesn't matter if you're a champion once. You have to keep fighting like a champion!" I like that!

We also taught the Bowyers. Their car is getting taken away, and they live about an hour and 20 minutes from the church, so it's tricky getting them rides. Please pray for them! Tiffany has a great testimony, and I believe she will be baptized very soon. There is 15 step stop-smoking lesson the sisters are doing with her this week. So hopefully that goes well. I can't wait until that cute little family goes to the temple. Love them!

This week, a member was at a thrift store out in a place called Frog Level (waaay middle of nowhere,) and he struck up a conversation with a lady who was working there. Somehow, the church came up, and it turns out, she saw an lds quad the store and bought it! So she has the Book of Mormon, D&C, and everything! He told her to read the story of Ammon and then sent us her way. Her name is Jennifer, and she's awesome! She has tons of faith in God, and reeeeeeally likes to talk. haha. She also has 2 little boys with autism, and they are the cutest kids ever.

We taught the activity days girls on Wednesday and that was super fun. We had them build straw towers and compared it to building a testimony. They were so cute.

So many great things are happening in this area, and I feel so grateful for the last 4.5 months I've been able to spend here! It's tough to leave, but I'm excited for a new adventure. I know whitewashing while training is going to be very difficult, but I have faith that the Lord will help me. Please keep me in your prayers and also Sister Munford.

Thank you for all your prayers and love and support. This gospel is just the best. I know God loves each of us and wants us to succeed. Families are eternal, and they're a good chunk of what life's all about! I'm so grateful that we can be together forever! I love ya'll!

Love,

Sister Mille

January 5, 2014

Hello Miller Family!

This week has been very good. We've been blessed with so many miracles.. I don't even know where to begin!

On Tuesday, we met with the Hagues, and this lesson was totally different. The hadn't really been progressing before, so we were praying about whether or not to drop them. But when we started the lesson, they told us they had been reading the Book of Mormon. They had a lot of really good questions, and the spirit was so strong! Near the end, Sister Hague started bearing her testimony of Jesus Christ, and we invited her to be baptized on January 17. She said yes, but then called us later to tell us that she probably wasn't going to be able to until spring because of health issues. Please pray for her!

On New Years Eve we visited a sweet 90 something year old lady in our ward. She had a book about the history of the church in Virginia, and it was SO cool! She was one of the first members in the area. I'm so grateful for all the missionaries who came here before us and brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to these people!

We had a very sweet lesson with the Munaycos this week. We were teaching the plan of salvation, and everything was so amazing and new to the little girls. When we told them that we lived with God before coming to earth, Isabelle (5) said "REALLY?" and then pretended to faint. Haha she did that several times throughout the lesson, and it made me think, man! Sometimes I take for granted how amazing this knowledge is! "You will see your grandmother again someday." REALLY? "Because of what Jesus Christ did for us, we will all be resurrected." REALLY? So cute :) Heavenly Father is REALLY, really good to us :)

This week, I feel like I learned the truth of Jean A. Stevens statement, "The Gospel isn't weight. It is Wings." When we surrender our wills to God, he will do so much more with us than we can do on our own. At a zone meeting, an elder was teaching about how we can become more converted as missionaries. He said, "Repent of doubt." Since I started doing that, everything has changed.

A lot happened this week that I don't have time to write about. Jaden Alpy is getting baptized on January 24! David, a less active member, is quitting smoking this week! Please pray for him :) Aslo, the walkers are struggling and could use some too. Thank you!

We are being very blessed in this work, and I feel so grateful to be a servant of God at this time. I know His gospel is true, and I know that it is the only way to true, lasting happiness. Jesus Christ can help us overcome anything.

I love you guys :)

Sister Miller

December 29, 2014

Hey!

Do you remember that one time when we were all skyping on Christmas!? I DO! That was so cool! I got to see all of your beautiful faces! And Haylie's crazy pajama dancing with her pregnant belly!! (I think that was the highlight of my Christmas.) WOW!  I just love you guys!!

Christmas here was great. The festivities started on Sunday night when we had dinner with the Nieprashks. Brother Nieprashk's  German family was there, and they sang German Christmas carols while he played the accordion. I got in touch with my ancestral roots, man!

On Tuesday, we had our mission-wide Christmas Conference. It was so fun to see everyone! All my MTC buddies were there, and all my old companions. Family reunion :) It was also one of the spiritual highlights of my mission, I think. President and Sister Wilson spoke, and different missionaries talked about the different Christlike attributes. In between each talk, there was at least one musical number. It was so amazing!! After the Conference, we went caroling with the cute Roland family to some less active members and potential investigators. It was really cool to see how something so simple can really touch people's hearts and bring the spirit of Christ. I want to go caroling every year!

Christmas Eve, we did service in the morning, and then we got to teach the sweet Alpy family. The mom has been less active for a very long time, and she wants to come back. We read Moroni 10:32 with them and shared a message about the Savior. Her son, Jaden, is 8 years old, and he really wants to be baptized! We told him that if he came to church and read his scriptures, he could be ready by January 17. He stood up, ran to his bedroom, grabbed a notebook, and said, "Okay! tell me what I need to do!" He then wrote down his baptism date and everything he needed to do to get there. I was pretty amazed. Some children are so full of faith. It blows me away!

After that, we went to a members house for dinner. She made cheese fondue! It was so fun! We did some Christmas caroling after dinner, which I love. The Hinchas had us over for dessert with some people who didn't have families to spend Christmas with.

On Christmas morning, we were absolutely spoiled. The Christmas tree the ward put together for us was so beautiful, and we both had packages from home to open up. Someone made us each a stocking, and a few families gave us gifts. The Blackwells had us over for breakfast, and then we got to see you humans! We visited a sweet, old lady and some other people. When we showed up at the Givens', dinner was about 2 and a half hours behind schedule, so we just spent the rest of the evening with them. We played board games with their cute grandkids, decorated Christmas cookies, and chilled. It was "brilliant!" :) I love her cute British accent. She and Brother Givens are some of the church's leading scholars, and I could just talk to them all day. We started dinner off with an English tradition of standing in a circle and cracking our crackers. (These little present things that pop open when you pull on them.) Each one had a paper crown, a joke, and a treasure inside. We all put on our crowns and went around the table reading very not-funny English jokes ;) We had a roast, which was "truly a triumph, my dear!" carrots, parsnips, and Yorkshire pudding. It was all very English. I loved every second of it :)

Even though I missed being home, this was my favorite Christmas I can remember. I realized that Christmas isn't a time without struggles and sorrow. Rather, it is a time to recognize that the Great Jehovah, the King of all Kings, submitted himself to be born in a manger. He triumphed over death and pain, but not without first descending below it. I know with all of my heart that he lives today. He is there for us, and He can lift us higher. He is the source of light. I have Him to thank for every good thing in my life.

I really love you guys. Thank you for everything. I'm so lucky to be in your family!

Love,

Sister Miller

December 22, 2014

Hi Family!

This week has been one really high highs and pretty low lows. We saw some wonderful miracles!

We started teaching a deaf person named Natasha. Oh my goodness, I LOVE her. She went to school with a member of our ward, and he invited her to come see how the primary teachers work with this sweet little deaf boy, Connor. She loved it!  She is just fabulous and kind and very expressive! She reads lips really well, and Connor's grandparents are pretty good at signing, so we were able to communicate alright. We are learning sign language, and it's pretty daunting. But sister Munford took it in high school, and we got permission to have 30 extra minutes a day for language study! And we can do all things through the help of our Savior. It is so fun. I love how confident Natasha is. She is just this cute, sassy black lady who knows she is a child of God!

We also have another new investigator named Jose. He's from Puerto Rico, and his wife is a member. I think the spirit of Christmas is softening people's hearts, because there are a lot of less-active and part member families who seem to want to come closer to God. The spirit was so strong in his lesson. He said, "I know my English is not the best... but I know this is the word of God because of what I feel. And I don't mess around with that." He's a really cool guy.

We had our ward Christmas party on Saturday, and that was bittersweet. A member of the ward passed away from cancer this week, and it's been pretty rough on everyone. They're all in some way related to the Beazley family, so it was very sad. A regular source of laughter for me is being in Scotchtown ward choir. We are aweful haha. But on Sunday, we performed in Sacrament meeting. Sister Beazley always loved to be in the choir, and I really believe she was our Christmas angel, helping us to sing better than we could have on our own. It was a very sweet meeting.

Another hard thing is that we aren't teaching Allison anymore. Apparently, she did something, and so the Walkers are no longer letting her live with them. We have no way to get ahold of her right now :( She was so close.  I'm praying so hard that the Lord will send an someone to help her get back on track, and I really have hope that things will work out. I really just love that human with all my heart. Will you please pray for her?

President Wilson came to our companionship study this morning, and that was pretty cool! I learned so much! He's a really good mission president. Very Christlike, and caring. It was a tender mercy today.

I am sooo excited to talk to you humans this week! We still don't know what time we'll be skyping, What time would work best for you?  We have 40 minutes, I'd like to talk to everyone all together and then separately :)

I hope during Christmas, we can all take some time out of the business and  think about the Savior. I hope we will do the things He would do. He lives. He is the light and life of the world, and his goodness can overpower any of the negativity that is in it. I am so grateful for His perfect, humble example and his all encompassing grace.

I love you with all my whole self! See you soon :)

Sister Miller

December 15, 2014

Hi fam!

Nikki and Bane got baptized yesterday! It was awesome! It went pretty smoothly, because her mother in law has been planning it out for years haha. They've been coming to church for a long time, and they were taught by the senior couple. We had no records of it, so we had to teach them all 5 lessons in just a couple visits! It was crazy, but fun. We had to do a musical number... eek! I don't really know how it sounded sounded, but I was scared out of my skirt.

Last Monday when we were emailing, I started chatting with this gentleman we see every week at the library. He opened up to us and told us that he had lost his son in a car accident a few years ago. We had a great conversation about the gospel, and I asked if he would like to learn how his family could be together forever. He agreed to meet with us, and we set up an appointment for later in the week at the library. We were pretty bummed, because he didn't show up. As we were getting ready to go, this super happy middle-eastern man just walked up to us and became our best friend! He said (in very broken English,) "The weather is beautiful. The world is beautiful! The people in America are beautiful! I love it here!" Come to find out, he's from Iraq, and he lost his wife in the war. He's had a really hard life, but he has an incredible, positive attitude, and he wants to learn more about the gospel! We walked him over to the computer and showed him how to pull up the book of Mormon in Arabic. It was a cool experience!

We got to teach the Walkers this week :) Love. Them!!! Seriously, they are just so prepared. Please pray for us this week. We are teaching them the law of chastity. Allison and Darien will either have to get married, or she has to move out in order for her to be baptized... It's hard, because she helps take care of Sister Walker. But I know that with the Lord's help, they'll be able to work it out. :)

We also taught the Bowyers! They are crazy prepared. He is a member, and she isn't. She wants to get baptized so bad, but she is having trouble quitting smoking. They've met with a lot of missionaries, but he's been working so much that this was my first time teaching them. She said, "We need the spirit in our home again!" and they are trying to come back to church. :) They have 2 little girls, Maddison and Olivia who are 3 and 4. Please pray for their sweet family!

Sister Munford is super great :) She's a wonderful missionary, and we get along well. She's really quiet around other people though, so we're working on balancing conversations and teaching better. She's from Sandy, UT, and she loves to dance.  She cracks up at the slightest joke, which makes me feel like I'm way funnier than I am ;)

Well peeps, I sure love ya'll. Thank you for sending so many prayers my way. I really can feel them, and they make a difference. I love you!

Love,

Sister Miller

December 8, 2014

"Ha ye doin??"

I got a new companion! Her name is Sister Munford, and she is the bees knees. We already knew each other because she was in my district, so that was nice. :) It's always tricky adjusting to change, but that's what makes us grow. It's been fun introducing her to scotchtown! She likes it, I think. :)

Nikki and her son Bane are getting baptized this week! Holy toleto, that has been an exciting/crazy thing. We have to teach them all the lessons in 2 visits before they get baptized! They've been coming to church for a long time though, so they'll be ready :) Bane is 9, and it was pretty funny going over the baptismal interview questions with him. We asked, "Have you ever committed a serious crime?"  he got this really serious look on his face and said, "Well..................... I uh..... picked up something off the ground one time I maybe shouldn't have..." And his 5 year old sister piped in, "Yeah! a sparkly rock, even!!" It was so cute.

We also had exchanges this week, and that was really fun. My friend Sister Stilson came here, and Brother Mills kept thinking she was my new companion. He took us to teach his second cousin, who is like 91 years old. We had to yell so she could hear what we were saying. It was nuts!

This Christmas season is so special! I'm so grateful to be a missionary right now. In the morning during studies, I curl up by our tree and read Jesus The Christ. :) It's the best! And I get to talk about Him with different people all the time! Aaaaand, I'm really excited for Christmas, because I get to talk to you humans!! I We are going to the Given's for Christmas dinner and Skype!! (she's the really smart British lady!) So that should be fun.

That's pretty much the update! We're just working hard, and trying to stay sane. The mission is such a roller coaster. I'm trying to learn a lot about stress management haha..

The gospel is true!

 I sure love you guys :)

Love,

Sister Miller

December 1, 2014

Ohana,

 

Looks like I'm staying in Scotchtown! The other amigo is also getting transferred though :( I'm really going to miss her. I loved being companions with these two humans! I learned a ton. Last night, we laid in bed and just laughed about all the ridiculous ward choir practices, funny experience, and crazy things Brother Mills says. I feel like a lot of the things I love about this area are ending this week. We had to stop teaching Jermaine.. (It's a long story, but he just really needs prayers right now.) We can't be the #3nephites in the back of Bro. Mills police car anymore.. But just like any time things change, there is always more good to come! I'm excited to show a new companion all the great things about Scotchtown :)

 

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I definitely had one I won't forget. :) Our relief society president planned a Thanksgiving dinner for all the members and our investigators who didn't have family to spend it with. The day before Thanksgiving, she called us from Salt Lake City and told us she was with her son in the hospital! She put the Hinchas (Senior couple) in charge of the whole thing... and they don't cook! So it was a pretty crazy ordeal. The Hinchas did a great job pulling it together, making turkey, roads rolls, stuffing, and pie. We ended up making the sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. About 8 people came, and it was so worth it, just seeing them so happy and thankful :) We ate only a tiny bit, because the Blackwells had us over for yet another Thanksgiving dinner a few hours later! It was so fun :) (And remarkably more tasty;) The Walsh's came, and Bro. Walsh played us some bluegrass music. I have to focus really hard to understand what he's saying, because his accent is so thick. Love this ward :) After that, we took food to some people who we knew were struggling, and I sang *Nsync Christmas all night long.

 

Last Monday, some members came and put up a Christmas tree in our house! It's so cute :) It just has lights on it now, but our sweet relief society presidency has asked each of the families in the ward to give us an ornament with their name on it. "They're part of our ward family too!" she said. So sweet :) And the primary made us a cute paper chain to go on it!

 

Speaking of Christmas! Right now, everybody check out Christmas.mormon.org. There is a super short video on it that helps invite the spirit of Christ into Christmas. I love it! And it's pretty much the easiest way to share the gospel! You can post it to social media sites and use the #sharethegift.

More important than sharing it is living it, though :) Our Savior Jesus Christ is the most important, loving gift that was ever given. I'm so grateful that our Father in Heaven gave his only begotten Son for us. Because of this gift, we can all experience, light, hope, healing, and love. Because of this, I want to invite you all to do something. Will you think of a gift you can give to God this Christmas season, and then give it? It might be something like breaking a bad habit, starting a good one, or having more sincere prayers. Whatever it is, I know that he will bless you with the courage and the strength to do it. You will feel the love of God more in your daily life, and you will experience the joy of Christmas! :)

 

The Walkers are doing awesome. Allison had a really cool experience reading the Book of Mormon, and she is starting to prepare for "bap-a-tism." Oh, also! Our investigator, Nikki and her son Bane, are getting baptized on December 13! She's been coming to church for almost a year now, because her husband is a member, and she's decided she wants to do it :) I'm really happy for her.

 

Well Fam, I love you. Life changes a lot, but I'm so grateful to have you always as my best friends. May you be happy and well this week, and may God bless you with peace :)

 

Love,

Sister Miller

November 24, 2014

Dear Fam,

 

I am just feeling sooo grateful to be a missionary today! Heavenly Father has been dumping his blessings ALL over us this week! We taught the Walkers, and it was just the sweetest experience. Their 12 year old, Aubrey, has a pixie cut and the cutest little personality. She reminds me so much of Karlie, its crazy! I grabbed her and gave her the biggest hug and said, "I'm pretending you are my little sister!" She is so cute. Their son's fiancé, who is only 18, lives with them too. She has had a very difficult life, and you could just see how much she needs the gospel. It's amazing to see how earnestly she wants the hope and peace the gospel provides. She was in a car accident a few years ago and lost her twin sister, so I'm really looking forward to teaching her the plan of salvation this week.

 

This really sweet family moved into our ward from Cedar City recently, and they've been a huge tender mercy. Last night, they had us over for dinner with Jermaine, and they made us CAFE RIO!! It was so good. The members of this ward have been great about stepping up to the plate to do missionary work. They are struggling a lot... one of our ward missionaries has acute leukemia and is going through treatment right now.. Almost every family is burdened financially. Many of them are ill, and all seem to be in some sort of crisis. But somehow, they all still give. I've been so moved to see the way they all want to serve each other and our investigators. They understand where true happiness comes from. They turn outward :)

 

Oh man, Jermaine is the coolest you guys. I can't even explain what a transformation we've seen in him! I remember the first time I met him, he was standing on the side of the road in baggy pants, with a slouchy stance, and a pick in his afro. His heart just needed the gospel so bad. Teaching him last night, he looked completely different. He was beaming! Everything he does in his life now is for God. He said so humbly, "I just want to be the purest temple for Him that I can be." I want to be more like Jermaine!

 

Family, I love my mission so much that sometimes I wish I could just take a slice of it and give it to you. It's so hard to express in emails how much my life has changed and how happy it's made me. It's so stinking hard sometimes, but the growth and blessings that have come are beyond worth it. There is nothing like seeing the light come into a person's eyes. There's nothing like feeling the spirit testify through you, and seeing someone come to a knowledge of their Savior. I've never laughed so much. I've never cried so much. I've never been so blessed. I've never made so many incredible friends... and I've never known with more certainty that Jesus Christ lives. The Atonement is absolutely real... put simply, it fixes us when we are broken and makes us more than we are. "Blessed be the name of our God. let us sing His praise, yea, let us give thanks to His holy name...Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not buast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many miracles (have been) wrought in this land, for the which we will praise his name forever." Alma 26:8,12

 

I hope this email made sense... not a lot of details, but my heart just so full! I hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving in Utah, Omaha, the Netherlands, and Mexico. I am so grateful to have a family like you. We are so so so so blessed. I love you :)

 

Sister Miller

November 17, 2014 - Bugabooed

Hi Family!

 

Thanks so much for the birthday wishes. It was definitely a birthday I won't forget! I woke up, and my companions said, "Congratulations on beating teen pregnancy!!"  They decorated the house while I was in the shower and made me muffins for breakfast. :) It was so sweet! Later, we happened to bump into a member, and he took us all to lunch! He didn't even know it was my birthday.

 

After that, we visited a less active member. It turns out, one of her couches has bed bugs. Like BAD bed bugs!! Sis. Anderson noticed them mid lesson crawling all over the place. When we came out, they were all over us, in our bags, our clothes, everywhere! It was disgusting. We got them off our stuff, but its kind of a stressful situation!

 

As Brother Mills would say, "We done got bugabooed!"

 

The sweet senior couple missionaries in our ward are like our mission-grandparents. They heard me telling my companions about Grammy's caramelitas one time, and they decided to make them for me for my birthday!!! It was so cute and soo thoughtful! (Of course they weren't nearly as good as Grammy's, but it was really sweet.) :)

 

 

This week was pretty hard. To be honest, I'm having a rough few weeks. I'm so grateful for prayer though, and for our personal study time in the morning. It gets me through! Yesterday, I read in Mosiah 24 about the people of Alma who were in bondage. They poured out their hearts to God, and he said, "Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me.... And I will also ease the burdens which are put on your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs." He then strengthened the people so they were able to bear their burdens with ease. Missionary work can be a really heavy, stressful load, but I'm praying that the Lord will strengthen me through it. These people "did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." So I guess I should too.

 

Oh my word, we had the most ridiculous lesson with the Hagues this week! Actually. every lesson with them is kind of nuts. Anyways! We pulled in, and their entire house and yard was COVERED in Christmas lights. I've never seen so many decorations haha. There was a little dog in a Santa suit running around. Ron had an all camo outfit with "duck dynasty" written on the vest. It was sweet! He told us that he once flew a kite so high, it got hit by an airplane. We found out that he and Valerie got married at the "Gospel Chickenhouse," (an old chicken coup/barn turned into a bluegrass venue.) They had a really difficult time understanding the Word of Wisdom. "Ya mean I can't eat ma elk, ma squirrel, and ma turtle meat?!?!" Ohdear... haha

 

We didn't get to meet with the Walkers because the mom has been in a lot of pain this week. Please pray for them. We taught Jermaine last night, and he's still solid as a rock. He's just going through a really tough time financially, and emotionally too. Please keep him in your prayers too.

 

It's crazy how hard Satan works on people when they are trying to do good. Whenever sincere, repentant people try to meet with us, it seems like something always comes up. (They get the flu, something happens at work, etc.) It seems like before any great spiritual experience on my mission, there is a struggle. But I know that there is great purpose in our trials, and our Savior is there to help us along the way.

 

I love the gospel. I know it's true. I love you fam!

 

Love,

Sister Miller

November 10, 2014

Hey fam!

 

Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes :) ya'll are so good at making me feel special and loved. I'm lucky to have such a wonderful family!!

 

This week was a pretty tough one, but we were really blessed too.

 

Our bishop called and told us about an inactive family who had decided they wanted to come back to church. They live out in the middle of NOWHERE, and their driveway is like 2 miles long. It was creepy going there at night! haha. When we got there though, we just fell in love with their family. Aubrey, the 12 year old daughter is just cute and sassy as can be. She hasn't been "bap-atized" yet, and she really wants to be. The mom is disabled because of a car accident, so their family is just struggling a lot. She decided that they really needed the gospel. She's the most sweet, humble person ever. She came to church yesterday and got a priesthood blessing, and you could tell it just meant the world to them. We get to teach them tomorrow!! So that will make a great birthday :)

 

I went on exchanges to Glen Allen this week, and that was really cool. It's a very culturally diverse area, so it was fun talking to people from such different backgrounds. We taught a really cool young couple. She was from Croatia, and the two of them were just feeling spiritually lost. Teaching them was really interesting, because they were close to my age. They seemed pretty skeptical at first, and I was nervous. But the spirit kept speaking through us to answer their questions. We eventually got to the part of the restoration about Joseph Smith, and they were completely quiet. During the First Vision, her eyes welled up with tears, and her countenance completely changed. It was so amazing to see the spirit of God work in her. I really wish I could be there to teach them more, but that's just how exchanges go :)

 

Heavenly Father is just so merciful to let us do missionary work! It's always so crazy to me how little we, the missionaries, have to do with anything. We do our best, but ultimately, I think the best thing we can do is to get out of the way. Focusing on His will, and how much He loves His children, we can become "Windows to His love." Then, His light can shine through us.

 

The mission is hard, but it's worth it. 

 

Loves :)

Sister Miller 

November 3, 2014

Hello!

 

I can't believe I've been out 9 months. The time is starting to go by WAY too fast! On the 29th, Sister Ence made all these cute signs that said, "HAPPY HALF WAY" And cut them in half and hung them up around the house it was so cute.

 

Halloweenie was so fun! There is a sweet Peruvian sister who has us over for dinner every Friday. She's an RM and is pretty much our best friend. She fed us Brother Perkin's (her husband) fingers, brain, worms, gore, bones, jack-o-lantern, and creepy green drink! It was so cute :) She is the best! She's also been awesome about fellowshipping the Munayco family (the one with the little newborn.) They've all been really sick, so she has been taking care of them and helping them with their testimonies too. She rocks.

 

Jermaine is doing awesome. Our lesson was on the Word of Wisdom yesterday. It was so amazing because he had already taught himself. He could notice a difference in his spirit when he was smoking, drinking, etc, so he stopped. Good fella!

 

We went out with Bro. Mills again this week, which is just always the highlight. He doesn't ever wear his hearing aids, so you never quite know how much of the conversation he's getting, but he always has something funny to say! "Well, the chubby missionaries are the sweet ones."  This week, we piled into the back of the old police car, and visited a sweet old lady named Virginia. She lives about a mile and a half into the woods on a bumpy dirt road, in a tiny little home with no electricity. It was a night I won't forget. Sometimes, when it gets dark so early, I tend to get kind of gloomy and depressed. But sitting in that tiny dark house with the ceiling partially caved in, huddled around a little gas heater thing, I learned a valuable lesson. The happiness we feel in life doesn't have to depend on our circumstances. Christ is the light that fills us from the inside out.

He is "The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things." D&C88:13 Despite the conditions she lived in, Virginia wanted to sing hymns of praise to God. We read scriptures to her by flashlight, and the light of Christ filled up our insides.

 

I feel so blessed to be serving a mission. Heavenly Father has been so good to me. I'm learning so much, and I feel like He's opening my eyes to the blessings I've always had. The gospel is so amazing. We truly are so lucky to have all that we do. Thank you for being such a great family. I really am so fortunate to have you. Thanks for your prayers and support. I love you!

 

Love,

Sister Miller

October 27, 2014

Guys, God is so real!

 

Last night we had dinner with the Roldands, this super awesome family in the ward. We talked to them about miracles and shared Mormon 9:15-22 with them. We asked them to pray for a miracle after we left, and then we went out and worked. They told us they should go visit a family they knew. We showed up at their house, and I gave probably the most awkward door approach of my life. You'd think after 9 months I'd have it down. But good thing for grace :) They let us in, and we were able to teach them the restoration! She has 2 little girls, 11 and 5, and their eyes were glued on us the whole time. Little kids usually don't listen like that, but the spirit was soo strong. The mom was super uninterested at first, but by the end, she had committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, and she wants to meet with us next week! It's so amazing how the spirit works. I know that this is Heavenly Father's work and not ours. I know that God is a God of miracles, and that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He loves each person so much. I'm grateful to be a missionary, because I keep getting glimpses of how He sees his children. Everyone is so special in His eyes.

 

The members in this ward are amazing. I live for Thursdays!! We always eat with the Mills and the senior couple, and then Bro. Mills takes us out to visit people for the rest of the night. He is one of the most Christlike people I know! And he cracks me up. Sometimes, in the middle of a lesson he'll be like, "Hey! Let's sing a hymn!" and then just start singing haha. We taught the Hague family the Word of Wisdom with him this week. That was awesome. We also saw the less active sister who just had a baby, Sister Cardenas. Her little girls got in on the lesson, and it was really fun!

 

That's about all I have time for today. I love ya'll a lot! Thank you for sending me on a mission. I'm learning so much. I know the gospel is true. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It's a good book!

 

Love and peace

Sister Mimicita

October 20, 2014

Hi Fam!

This week has been crazy. And awesome! We started teaching the Hague family, and they are some of my favorite people in the universe, I think. We pulled up to their house, and there was a sign nailed to a tree that said, "Stop! BLOW YOUR HORN BEFOR YOU GET OUT!" We did, and a man wearing a plaid shirt with the sleeves cut off walked out and welcomed us in. Valerie, the mom, is in a wheelchair, and Chet and Troy are their teenage sons. They live in really humble circumstances, but they have so much faith. And they're hilarious. "Use-ta-could read the Bible all the time. Den mah eye sight got worser!" Love them. Ron has a tattoo that says, "Git er done!"

 

Remember Landon, the atheist guy we've been teaching? Well, Sis. Ence challenged him a while back to start looking at everything as if there was a God for one week. The next day, his boss asked him to go to a conference in Salt Lake City. This week was the big trip! His conference was held on temple square! The second day he was there, he walked up to the temple, put out his hands and said, "Okay, God. I'm listening. I'm here. If you're there, let me know." Just then, he looked up and saw something silver in the air twirling around the spires. It started spinning faster and gradually started falling. Without taking a step, he opened his hand right out in front of him, and the feather fell perfectly in his palm. He was shocked. God is real!!

 

The sad part is though, it wasn't enough :( Landon asked for a second feather, and when it didn't come, he decided that there wasn't enough proof. He just isn't ready to learn right now, so there isn't much more we can do for him. :( Alma 32:17-18.

 

On a happy note, Jermaine is a boss!! He literally is a walking testimony of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Every time we meet with him, I am just blown away by how receptive he is to the spirit, and by how humble and ready to change he is. He has completely turned his life over to God. He shares the gospel with every person he meets. It's awesome! He's going through a lot of turmoil right now... facing persecution, not being able to find a job, and being surrounded by temptation. But he "Looks to (God) in every thought; doubts not, fears not."

 

Yesterday, President Wilson came to a lesson with him, and it went really well." Transfer calls were on Saturday night, and we didn't get one! We were so happy that we were all staying, but after the lesson, President Wilson said to brother Mills, "I'm sorry these 3 are all leaving you." We were like, "Whaaaaaaaa?" He said, "Oh, you didn't get a call?" looking really confused. We shook our heads and he said, "Okay, then I guess you're not getting transferred." But for the rest of the day, we were so worried that they were going to whitewash the area and that they just forgot to tell us! So we called the AP's, and whew, we're all staying. :) I'm soooo grateful! I love it here, and I sure love my two buddies!

 

Speaking of them, Sister Anderson is really good at the guitar! This week, we had lunch with the Walsh's. He builds bluegrass instruments, and the two of them had a sweet jam! It was fun. Btw, I hope you guys still like me if I'm 500 pounds when I get home. Sister Walsh made us meatloaf, chicken spaghetti, salad, snaps (aka green beans), potatoes, home made rolls, sweet potato pie, and cookies. For lunch. The next day, Sister Mills made us butterbeans, chili, cornbread, baked apples, sweet potatoes, and apple cider. The members are sooo good to us here! And a lot of the food is freshly grown, so that's fun. It's just making me pudgy.

 

Well, that's the update! I'm still loving it here. Growing and learning a lot. :) I love you, fam!!

 

Love,

Sister Miller

October 13, 2014

Hello Sweet Family,

 

This week was pretty good :) It's been really chilly the last few days, and the leaves are starting to change. It's a beautiful time to be in the countryside! I swear, I fall more and more in love with Virginia every day. We have been blessed with so many miracles lately, big and small :) Heavenly Father is so good to us!

 

Tank is doing amazing! We had a lesson with him at Sister Sandy's (the lady with the hairless dog who is full of joy.) We were a bit nervous at first, because the dog started jumping all over him and her mom was yelling, "HI! HI! HI! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! I HAVE A MOWHAWK! I HAVE A MOWHAWK!" Hahah but eventually the dog went in the kennel, and there was some degree of reverence :) The lesson was great! Sister Sandy was really able to testify, and it helped him out a ton. He is so golden, I still can't believe it! His testimony is crazy strong, and he shares it with every person he can. I can't remember if I said this last week, but we had to push his baptism date back to January 1, because he's still on probation. He is sooo prepared, so we thought it was going to be hard for him. He just thought about it for a second and said, "I think that's a blessing. God is just giving me more time to learn so I can be more prepared."

 

Yesterday, Tank brought his friend Clyde to church. It was sooo sweet. Clyde has some mental disability, so he gets bullied a lot. It's really sad. Tank spends quite a bit of time with him, and it was just awesome to see the way he showed him around the church yesterday. He was introducing him to people, helping him with the hymns, and explaining how things work. We got to teach him afterward, and man! I just love him! He has such a special spirit.

 

The other day, the spirit totally lead us to the sweetest lady named Barbara. Her 91 year old grandmother was a former investigator, and Sister Anderson had a feeling that we should go see her. I knocked on the door, and someone yelled "come in!" Well, apparently I wasn't the person they were expecting, because when I opened the door, the people inside looked horrified! Barbara quickly stood up and shoved me out, saying "oh no! you're not my kid!" haha.

 

A few seconds later, she came outside and apologized, then invited us to sit down and talk. She is just going through an extremely hard time right now... she's taking care of her grandmother and her brother who is in a wheelchair. Her boyfriend of 15 years recently left her, her dog died, and her next door neighbor just passed away. Her heart was just broken. I love the healing part of the Atonement. We read Alma 7:11-13 with her and talked about how the Savior understands how she feels. Several months ago, Haylie emailed me about when Sawyer had his first virus. She said it was so hard to see her little baby go through it, but she knew it needed to happen for his immune system to grow stronger. She stayed up with him all night and never left him. I told her this story and explained to her that God is her Father. We have to experience pain in this life in order to become stronger, but he is there with us the whole time. He is perfectly compassionate and stays beside us the whole time.

I'm excited to meet with her again, because I know the gospel can really help her.

 

Another little miracle. We visited a less active member we had never met before, Sister Arno. Apparently, she works 70 hour weeks and is rarely ever home, but we happened to catch her! She said, "I know I haven't come to church in a very, very long time, but I just finished reading Jesus The Christ for the second time last night, and I've been talking to my husband about coming back." She's great!

 

Well, I'm sorry my email last week was super lame. I think conference got everyone all hyped on missionary work, because I had more emails than I've ever had! That kind of took up all my time.

 

But, whether my emails are super lame or super great, know that I love you, and I think of you :) Your prayers and letters mean so much to me, and they really help! Keep being fantastic, and have a great week!

 

Love,

Sister Miller

October 6, 2015

The Kinds of Things People Say at the Dinner Table at Scotchtown Ward

"Grand pappi done put black strap molasses on his buiscut!!"

 

"Me and the Lord grew this corn for my family, and for the missionaries." -Bro. Mills

 

Family!

 

I'm so so sorry I won't be sending you a big email today. But know that I love all your guts and I will write some letters today!

 

First of all, the Book of Mormon read a thon was incredible! I love the Book of Mormon. There are so many great stories and principles taught in it, but the main message, I believe is this: The Savior wants to forgive. The atonement of Jesus Christ is real, and it is for everyone.

 

It was great reading it in preparation for general conference. CONFERENCE WAS SO FANTASTIC! I learned so much!! I think Elder Bednar's was my favorite, but it is impossible to choose. He just summed up the reason I am a missionary, and I loved it!

 

So so excited to welcome this new baby girl into our family! :) Can't wait! Mom, thanks so much for the Halloween Package. It made my whole week!

 

Thank you so much for the love and the prayers. I LOVE YOU!

 

 Love,

 Sister Miller

September 29, 2015

Wow! What a Week!

 

We started teaching a man this week named Jermaine Truehart. He goes by Tank. And he is the most humble person I have ever met. He just got out of prison in August, and he completely wants to turn his life around. He use to be a gangster and a drug dealer, but his mom died a few months ago. It took a big toll on him, and he knew he needed to change. My companions found him just before I got here, but he hasn't had a phone, and we weren't able to contact him until this week. After our first lesson, I was speechless. All I could say was "God is real." We haven't even taught him the word of wisdom or law of chastity yet, but he is already living them! Everything he has learned has been by the spirit, not from what we've said. He loves the Book of Mormon, and he prays and studies the scriptures every day. At first, his family didn't trust us coming over, because he's had such a sketchy past. So one day, we stood outside and taught him in the rain. He prayed at the end of the lesson, and it was the most humble, sweet prayer in the world.

 

It's been really hard for him to put his life back together since coming home, so he just tries to find work wherever he can. He said he use to have money, nice cars, and women. Now, he seriously has nothing. And he has never been so happy, because he has given his live over to God. He was offered a job on Sunday, but he turned it down so he could come to church. In Sunday School, the lesson was on obedience, and the teacher asked, "Has there ever been a time when you were obedient, even though it was hard?" Tank shared that this week, one of his old gang friends was trying to get him involved in some bad stuff, but he turned him down. He said he didn't want to be a part of it anymore, so he got jumped. He didn't fight back. When it was all over, he stopped his nose from bleeding, got off the ground, and thanked God. He is free. He has changed, and there is nothing more beautiful than the peace he has found through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He's getting baptized on October 18, and I couldn't be more happy for him! :)

 

I love Tank's story so much. He truly has been born of God. I know that if this man can change and find peace in God, anyone can. I know that the spirit is the true teacher, and if any person will listen to it, they will find themselves doing the right thing. It's amazing teaching him, because we hardly have to lift a finger. He learns it all from God, and God's just merciful enough to let us see it happen. I love missionary work.

 

 

We had another amazing lesson this week with our investigator, Landon. Landon's an atheist, and he's super duper smart! My first day here, we taught him, and he just laid all this anti stuff he had read on us. I'm not going to lie, it shook my testimony up! But this week, sooo many of my prayers have been answered.

 

This week, we had our lesson with the Givens, some members in our ward. They are BRILLIANT! They wrote the books The God Who Weeps and The Crucible of Doubt. They're some of the best scholars and scriptorians in the church, and they do a lot for church hq. The lesson was absolutely perfect, because everything they taught Landon was backed with factual evidence as well as evidence from the scriptures. The most important factor though, was that the spirit was SO strong! They're such sweet, humble people, and they didn't make anyone feel dumb. They just lovingly answered all of his (and our) questions, and helped him to know the truth! (Also, Sister Givens has a darling British accent:) Landon is going to Utah in a few weeks on a work trip, and he's going to spend the day on temple square. Please keep him in your prayers!

 

Sitting in an old study, with books all over the walls, eating a brownie, and having a sweet British lady answer all my questions about life = HEAVEN!!

 

I really can't deny the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I can't deny that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. This promise from 2Nephi 30:5-6 is being fulfilled:  "The gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them... and then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes;"  It's awesome!

 

Can we talk about the women's broadcast?? AAMAZING! I had tears running down my face because the spirit was so strong. At the same time, I was fighting off laughter because the sweet investigator I was sitting next to kept saying, "Hallelujah!" "Mmmmhm," and "Amen!" :)

 

One last thing, this week, we are reading the Book of Mormon in preparation for conference. The whole thing! I know ya'll are busy with school and work and everything, but I know that if you pray and to come to conference with questions, they will be answered. You don't have time to read the B of M all day like we get to, but I just encourage you to spend some more time in the scriptures this week and really think about what God is trying to tell you.

 

Well that's all! Sorry about the novel. I just love being a missionary so much! I love ya'll to the moon and back,  and I hope you have a blessed week! :)

 

Love,

Sister Miller

September 22, 2014

Hey Ya'll,

 

Another great week in Scotchtown! Every morning we send out a "Daily Scripture" to a group of investigators and less active members. We got a call this week from Tony and he said, "Yo! That was the best daily scriptcha eva!!" I can't remember what verse we sent, but he said, "It said to depart from evil, so I just decided, I'm gonna do it! So I cut mah hair off, put it in a bag, and burned it!!!" So Tony's beautiful dread locks are gone! And he still hasn't come to church, but he'll get there :) We offered to help him clean his house this week because his girlfriend (who he lives with) has to drive him everywhere, and she won't take him to church until it gets done. Man, it was NASTY. Stinky clothes, garbage, cat poop... the works. (ps, the cat's names are 2 pac and fluffy;) We worked up a sweat, that's for sure, but it looks 10x better now! And we got to get to know his girlfriend's daughter Symone. She is the cutest! She's 15 and really wants to join the church. It's weird, My hair smelled bad, my back kind of hurt, and on the outside, I was just nasty. But on the inside... I was so happy. Like, not the normal "things are going my way" kind of happy. But real, lasting, warm happiness. It's hard to describe. I couldn't keep the smile off my face. Missionary work is so fun!

 

I'm still loving the trio. These sistas are super amazing. One of our investigators, Russel, was having a difficult time understanding the great apostasy. He really likes bluegrass music, so Sister Anderson played the mandolin, and we made up a song about it for him. He loved it!

 

This week we also had Sisters Meeting, which was amazing! It was so fun to see all the sisters in the mission and learn about how we can be better missionaries! I went to a training on faith, and I learned something really cool. They had us all go home and pull out our patriarchal blessings, and make a list of "I am" statements. (For example, if the blessing says, "You are a peacemaker," you write "I am a peacemaker" on a notecard. Or if it says, "I bless you that you be obedient," you write "I am obedient.") Every morning, you read at least one "I Am" statement out loud, and then you DO something to make it a truth. This transfers the information from one hemisphere of your brain to another, and it's a truth. We are all amazing children of God with endless potential, but why don't we live up to it? I think it's often because we lack the confidence that we can really do it. But we can! "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." Check out this video!  https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-01-001-your-potential-your-privileges?lang=eng  So that's my spiritual thought :)

 

Also, this week we did service for a LA member, Sister Sandy who has a bunch of cats and a hairless dog named A.B. Her mom was there babysitting the dog while we were painting. She came inside and said in a baby voice, "You had so much joy, didn't you my widdle puppy wuppy baby!" Well, apparently they refer to the dog going to the bathroom as "Having joy." While Sister Sandy was at work, her mom would call her to tell her every time AB "had joy." Sick! Every day I spend in Scotchtown, my love for house pets decreases.

 

September 15, 2014 Scotchtown!

Hey ya'll!

 

I'm feeling so blessed to be serving in a trio in Scotchtown! Do you remember me talking about Sister Anderson from the MTC? The super funny one who plays the mandolin? She's my companion! She is just the greatest. She's from Salem, UT, she's in a bluegrass band, and she is a super great missionary! My other companion's name is Sister Ence, and she is about the sweetest person in the world. She's from Fruit Heights, and she went to BYU Idaho. LOVE THEM!

 

Okay, where do I even begin?? You guys, this area is NUTS. I feel like I got transferred to a different country. We're out in the sticks, and the people here are just the best. I've been called a "Momen," a "Boman," and a "Norman" this week. "Use-ta-could" is a frequent phrase, as well as, "Ya'll be blessed nah!" It takes an hour to drive across our area, and our church building is completely surrounded by cornfields. In Sunday school, our teacher was asked to define the word "circumstance," so he wrote on the board, "WHAT YOU IN."

 

My first experience here was a lesson with a guy named Tony. I was like, "Is this guy for real?" I've never met anyone so enthusiastic about the gospel (Or really about anything in general!) He's this huge black guy with crazy dread locks that stick up all over. He's so cool! He's trying to quit smoking, and is really turning his life around. (In his words) "Man, I'm chill nah. All cause I been readin de Momen Book." We asked what his goals were and he said, "For real? My life dream is to have a log cabin out in the woods, and be married to a Mormon chick. The pitt bulls can come, maybe even a poodle, that's fine. But we all goin a live with the kids, and they be so nice. When they break the glass, they just say 'Daddy we broke it!' and I'll sweep it up, just like 'dat's fine. Go n play nah!'" Not even joking. This guy is pure gold.

 

Other funny things about Scotchtown:

On Thursdays, we do service at a thrift store called "Class and Trash."

I held a baby hedge hog!

Someone proudly told me this week, "I've only pulled a gun on someone twice!"

Our ward mission leader, Brother Mills.

 

Oh man, this guy. How does one describe Brother Mills?? He is the most energetic 79 year old farmer I have ever met! He just loves people and LOVES to share the gospel. He goes through the phone book just to find people for us to teach! The only problem is, everything he does cracks me up. Just like everyone in Scotchtown, he's kinda crazy. My companions and I just can't ever seem to keep it together with all the funny stuff that goes on!

 

Right now, go on youtube and watch "Ain't nobody got time for that." And you will get a glimpse of Scotchtown. It's impossible to describe over email!  It's so fun, but at the same time really humbling. We don't realize how good we have it. At least, I never did at home. Mom and Dad, I just want you to know how grateful I am that you two raised me in the Church. Thank you for teaching me about my Savior. Also, thank you for all the sacrifices you've made so our family wouldn't have to go without. I don't know how or why Heavenly Father has been so good to us, but I'm so grateful that he has. I'm grateful for the love in our home, and I'm grateful to be out here serving. It's hard work, but I am loving every minute of it.

 

It is breathtaking here. I will try to send pictures home next week. I love you so very much. I think of you and pray for you every day. I wish I could write about all the spiritual experiences and good times, but like always, there's just not time. I'll tell you someday though :) I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I love Him. This life is all about love.

 

Love you!

September 8, 2014 Bittersweet

Hello Family,

Carolyn was baptized on Saturday! :) Oh, it was such a special experience. She was so sweet and happy. There were tons of missionaries there! I got to see my bestie, Sister Armstrong! :) It was a big, happy reunion for all of us, and I will always remember it. I think that might be what heaven is like.

So, this week we also got transfer calls... and I'm leaving Midlothian. I thought I would be super sad about leaving, but honestly, my heart is just full. I have met some of the most incredible people here, and I feel so grateful to my Heavenly Father that I've been here as long as I have. These have been 6 amazing months! It's been tough saying goodbye to everyone, especially the ward, but I know I'm going where I'm supposed to be. It's a bit nerve-racking not knowing where I will go or who my companion will be, but I'm just trying not to think about it and trust :) 

The week before general conference, we are having a mission-wide Book of Mormon read-athon! I'm so excited! We'll be spending all day (except during appointments) reading the Book of Mormon, and we're going to finish it in a week! That should be way cool. 

I sure love you guys. And I know Heavenly Father loves you. :) That love is steady. It's the one constant thing in this world that never changes.

Love you!