This Christmas I am Going to Thank Heavenly Father for Our Savior Jesus Christ

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!! Can you believe its Christmas?? I cant! I get to call home! yay! Thank you to everyone who sent me cards and packages!! They made me so happy and filled my heart with exceedingly great joy haha...That point in the mission when you quote scriptures all the time. But seriously it is the only way I can express how I felt:) 

Heavenly Father blessed us so much this week! We had 3 investigators come to church and 2 members brought nonmember friends! It was such a great Sacrament Service with lots of music, singing, and thinking about Christ:) Those are the best! 

Hillary received the Priesthood this week! He also got a calling as a Gospel Principles teacher!!!!!! I am so excited for him!! I have the best convert ever, he is so awesome! I want all of you to meet him some day. He is the happiest person I know!

Well it turns out that I am really bad at reaching my goals. From week to week I never reach my goals! So this is a problem because then Sister P wasn't meeting her goals because I wasn't meeting mine.. and then it was hard to set goals for our investigators when I cant even reach my own goals. Partially because there is a million and one things to remember and do as a missionary I pretty much just forget my goals. So the zone leaders gave me a training on it this week and it helped a lot!! I have met my goals for 2 days in a row now:) yay! So after 3 days it is really put to the test. Thats how long I usually last. I will let you guys know next week:)

I lost my planner this week which is the worst thing ever!!!! And my greenie isnt that great at writing everything down yet. So.... I've been kind of lost lately! I lost it because we moved from one members house to another members house. But, it will be ok:)

Ok funny story..Its not that funny. But we had to move houses because our member, Sister Larsen has her grandsons coming to stay with her for Christmas and they are our age. So there is a rule on the mission that you cant be in the same room/house as someone of the opposite sex unless there is 3 people of the same sex there. So we were going to try to look for my planner but when we opended the door, and her grandson was there. We were trying to explain to him why we couldnt come in but he just thought we were SO weird. I was like.. ya.. we are weird. We have weird rules and we are teenagers dressed like grandma's. But its ok because we are happy! My mom likes me.. <-- I think that all the time haha 

Well I just love this time of year! I am so grateful to be on my mission for Christmas. I have no doubt that Christ walked the Earth and He lived a perfect life and that He suffered for each of us. He was the gift that our Heavenly Father gave to us so we can live with Him again. So what can we give back to Him? Instead of gold, frankincense and myrrh, what can we give to the baby Jesus this Christmas? What has He given you? I will tell you what He has given me. He has given me hope that everything will be ok in the end. He has given me peace because I know He loves me. He has given me an example to follow in my life. Each time I think of Him my heart skips a beat because I know He is real. So what am I going to give to Him this Christmas? Well, I am going to share His message with as many people as I can. I am going to pray and thank Heavenly Father for my Savior Jesus Christ. I love you guys and have a Merry Christmas!! 

One Year To Go!!

It's been a great week! I received a package from Karli and my Brother and that made me SO happy! We also had a ward Christmas dinner and 2 nonmembers came! Then we had a Fireside that I organized 2 nights in a row. We also had some really good experiences and one bad. There is a guy that really doesn't like us and was saying we don't believe in the same Savior that he does...Well we saw him at the store today and I was all like,"Hello! Good to see you again:D" haha... he hates us. I just love my mission and I especially love my ward. They are so so good to us and so supportive! They feel like family! 

So the picture with all the people is the Echavez family! We are teaching the one in all pink and we used to teach all of them. I love them so much! Then I also attached a picture of me hanging up ornaments on the Christmas tree at our house:) We shared a message with our member and that is how we justified helping her with her tree. It smells soo good! Then the last picture is our Christmas decoration in our room. I have put all my presents there! 

Well today marks the day..I have exactly 1 year until I come home. Unless I decide to extend.. haha it could happen. Home seems scary now. I love you guys! Have a good week!

New Companion!

Hello friends and family!!! Ok, this is going to be short because there is a maintenance guy that is waiting for my computer and he's just staring at me... hopefully he isn't reading this. But I wanted to tell you that I got a new companion! She is so awesome, she is Tongan and her name is sister Po'uliva'ati! But we call her sister P. and it rained this week! yay!! First time on my mission that it has rained for so long and hard! It was so great. I have missed it. 

Today.. December 8th.. and guess how hot it is outside!! 90 degrees! That's just crazy! This week has been great! One of our members braught their friend to church and she wants to meet with us! We were praying to be in the right place at the right time and during our morning run we ran into a member whose husband is struggling and she wants us to come teach them! Also, we taught Brett and Kim, and Kim will be a new investigator after finals and probably be baptized so I'm stocked! I love my mission. Ive been very blessed, thank you for all of your prayers!

Ok funny story.. the day I picked up my new companion she was straight from the MTC and I was wearing a wrist watch that I am not very good at telling time on .. so I thought it was 5:30pm and it was actually 4:30pm and I was rushing everything and I rushed to our dinner appointment and then realized that I was an hour off!! oops. Welcome to the mission... haha love you guys! Have a good week!

First Baptism! Hillary Idolo, Nov 22

I'm On Saturday, November 22nd, Hillary Idolo was baptized. It was such a beautiful day. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to teach Hillary. Hillary grew up in Nigeria speaking pigeon english. He went to school and he also studied religion for most of his life. He is one of 10 children. When Hillary lived in Nigeria, he had a roommate who moved to the States and then he became a member of the church. He told Hillary that he needed to find our church so that he could become a member too and feel the joy that he felt after his baptism. Hillary showed up at church and soon after meeting him we started teaching him. Hillary had been praying for guidance in his life and was also praying about what church to attend. After 3 weeks from the day we first started teaching him, he got baptized. Two of his nieces were able to be there and his mom.  He always says "how lovely! how lovely!" in his Nigerian accent haha its the best! We have developed a great friendship and he is so happy!

On Friday, we went and saw a man named Brett Mackay. He grew up in the church until he was 14 and then he stopped going because his parents stopped believing it was true. He is engaged and his fiancé's  sister moved to Utah and became a member of the church. When Brett and Kim went to visit Kim's sister, they really enjoyed the emphesis on family that our church offers. Plus,mhe has been running into a lot of people from his past that are members of the church. PLUS we knocked on his door and didn't even know he lived there. Somanyways, he is super prepared to come back to church. He really wants to come back and his fiancé is really excited to meet with us. Heavenly Father prepares people for the Gospel. Our job is just to find the people who are prepared and then teach them. 

Then we are also teaching Andy. We started talking to him when he was watering his lawn. We said, "we teach people how to come closer to Jesus Christ and how that foundation can help us come closer as families, is that something you would want to know more about about?" and he said YES!!! So then we continue to teach him a short lesson about the Book of Mormon. He invited us to come back. We went back and we taught him another short lesson at his doorstep (since his girlfriend didn't want us to come in). Andbit was one of the most powerful lessons I've had on my mission. Andy said he got the chills and we explained to him that feeling was the Holy Ghost testifying that what we were telling him was true. We taught him about how God is our loving Heavenly Father. It was really awesome. I love being a missionary and being able to witness miracles everyday!

My great Aunt Dodi died last Tuesday. I just found out today. I never met any of my grandparents so she was like a grandma to me. I didn't think the last time I saw her would be the last time. Of course it makes me sad but I am really grateful that I have the knowledge and belief in God. I know I will see her again after this life. 

I love the Gospel so much. I was reading Boyd K Packer's talk from this last conference. He pointed out that the Bible, The Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenents make up the largest compilation of scriptural references to Jesus Christ. That is how I know this church is true. Because I believe in my Savior, and brother Jesus Christ and I am grateful to have scripture that teaches me more about Him. We would never replace the Bible, we only have supporting scripture to the Bible. I am grateful because it helps me to come closer to Christ. I love you guys! Have a good week:)

We Had a Party!

Hello friends!

Its been a great week! Except that I got sick so I slept for 2 days, but other than that its been good:) The highlight of my week was Saturday! You guys are going to think we are super disobedient missionaries but it was all a big accident...haha so! What happened is our investigator Hillary had a birthday! He wanted to have dinner with us. So we said yes of course and we suggested that we have it at a member's house so he can get to know people! Then all of his nieces and nephews wanted to come too, so thats 4 more people. Then we invited Sister Brown who is this sweet lady that loves Hillary. So we basically threw a party. And of course we had to make a cake.. so we spent Saturday baking and running to the UPS store to ship my companion's bike and then we had to go to the store to buy stuff and then we had to help the member cook dinner. Then! we had the party and it was sooooo fun!!!!! It was great I loved it!!!! and Hillary is getting baptized this weekend on Saturday!!!!! YAY!!!!! We are also teaching his nieces and nephews too:) I love them soooo much! I will send pictures:) 

That same day we went and saw an older lady named Sister Mackay and she made us go find her pine cones. That was the weirdest service project haha. There's not very many pine trees in Southern California! And I heard its been cold in Utah and Colorado.. well its still in the 70's here! So weird. It's literally the same everyday. I'm not complaining:) 

Well I have some extra time, let me share a scripture with you all. I read this this morning and I thought it really explained my purpose as a missionary. It says,"And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to His will. And my prayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God, yea, the redemption of Christ; that they may once again be a delightsome people." And i love that because it is true. I am here to bring everyone to Christ. That they can have the same hope that I have. That they can find happiness in their life because they will know how to make choices that lead them to meet their potential. The message we share of Christ helps people come closer to their families, it helps people know who they are, it helps everyone be "delightsome". Im so grateful for the Gospel that we can have truth in our life that leads to happiness in our lives. :) I love you guys, have a great week!

Our party!

A selfie with Sister Brown:)

My companion and I made a two story cake for the first time! :D

John 15:18

So Heavenly Father blessed us a lot this week. But since the time change, people are in their pajamas at like 7 o'clock (I don't blame them) but it is hard to go see people because they get mad that it is too late. So we have had to get creative. Last night we were able to write letters to people that we used to teach and members of our ward and we went and taped them to their doors:)...that was fun. On Saturday we helped with a city parade and we got to see all the highschool band, girl scout and cub scout troops, and the JROTC. It was super fun to see all the color guard outfits! It was also a huge miracle because we happened to run into some people that we had contacted earlier and we felt like Heavenly Father was trying to tell us that we need to teach them! We also got a really nice tans that day though we were really exhasted from being out in the sun for 5 hours! 

Hillary (our investigator who is getting baptized on November 22nd) is doing really good! He is so solid and he is so excited to get baptized:) We are excited too because we know the joy that it will bring into his life. We were teaching one of our less actives and I told him I liked to shoot guns back Colorado, so he proceeded to show me all of the guns he has. He was really excited because no one in California likes guns...haha! Twice this week we had pass-off lessons with the Elders and it was really cool to see how the Elders teach! I was very impressed:) 

We had a really awesome miracle day on friday! We were knocking doors because we have this potential investigator who lives on this particular street who seemed really solid but we didn't have their house number. So I told my companion we would knock all the doors so we can find them! (My companion hates knocking doors which is good because Heavenly Father always blesses us when we do it!) So we start knocking and it was pretty typical, people not home or not interested but then we came across a house and a guy answers the door. He told us he was already baptized! We were like "what no way!" It turns out that he is a Mackay (a really famous family in Cypress because it is such a big family.) Anyways, he is engaged and his fiancé's family had moved to Utah and joined the Church there. He said that he and his fiance were thinking of coming back to Church. He wants us to come back and teach his fiancé! We were so excited and we didn't even know he lived there. It was a miracle straight from Heaven! I cant remember if I told you guys this story, but last week we were knocking doors because I told my companion if we knock this whole street that Heavenly Father will bless us with an investigator (I was kind of bluffing but I was praying hard it would happen) and then when we got to the end of the street there was girl carving pumkins and her brother was preparing to go on a mission and she had some questions! I guess her brother joined the Church about a year ago. We got to answer her questions and she was really interested in learning more. But she was 18 so we had to pass her off the the Singles Ward Elders. But we were there for that lesson and it was so powerful:) 

I love my mission. I am so grateful to be here and I know it is the work of God to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. In order to live with God again we need to have faith is Christ, repent, be baptized by someone holding the proper authority from God (because who wants someone to baptize then without the proper authority?) and then to endure to the end (which means never give up!) and thats all we need to do!! I'm grateful that I know who I am and what my purpose is on this earth. I just looove the Gospel and I looove the people in California, even if some of them can be mean. A scripture that really helps me when I face rejection is John 15:18 ,"If the world hate you, ya know that it hated me before it hated you."  This is Christ talking I feel like He is telling me,"Don't worry if people hate you for no reason.. they hated me too." Im grateful for the scriptures. I hope you all have a great week! Miss you!

I'm a Spider Ninja!

Ok, so Halloween wasn't that great, we had to deep clean our room and then we had to go to a meeting where everyone was SUPER heated about making goals. But! the Halloween Carnival for our congregation was on Wednesday and it was seriously the best night of my mission!! We were with our investigator Hillary.. I cant remember if I said something about him before but he is 29 and from Nigeria! He has the coolest accent! And he is so passionate about life! He is in a wheel chair because hewas paralyzed when he was 4 from a spinal cord injury. Anyways, we went to the carnival and we played all these games, like decorating a cupcake and eating a donut with no hands.. the usual things. But it was so fun with him!! We also had a chili cookoff that night and we got 3rd place out of like 20 pots of chili!! It was so cool. We just threw a bunch of stuff in the pot. While we were making it I was literally like.. "Well it looks like chili.." haha and then we got 3rd place and we got really weird prizes:) So that was really awesome and totally the highlight of my week.  

A miracle this week.. my companion hates knocking on doors. But I like it because there is always the possibility of someone really needing you right in that moment (like all the stories you hear "the missionaries came knocking on my door..") So I always have hope for a moment like that! Anyways,we didn't have any official plans because all the people we are teaching cancel last second. So I told my companion,"If we knock this whole street Heavenly Father will bless us with an investiator..." I was kind of bluffing but I definitely hoped He would! and He did! At the end of the street there was a young girl carving pumpkins and her brother got baptized not too long ago and is preparing to go on a mission!! So we taught her and she was super prepared! It was so cool:) Heavenly Father is REAL. He hears our prayers. 

Oh my goodness, yesterday it RAINED! I died laughing when I went outside to see our neighbor was squeegee-ing her windows...hahahaha it was so funny! People literally dont know what to do here when it rains! Another thing that was funny.. so Sister Lindsey calls one of our investigators and her name is Janice. So her brother answers the phone. and my companion is like, "Hey is Janice there?" and he's like,"Ya that's me." But we knew our investigator was a female and not a male so we were confused.. but my companion was like, "Oh, hey Janice, we were just calling to make sure it is ok if we come over tonight?" and the guy on the phone is like, "who is this?" and we were like,"we met you yesterday and you said we could come over?" and he is like,"no I didn't, I didn't meet you." My companion was like, "This is Janice right?" He was like,"ya?" He goes,"Maybe you are thinking of my sister." We were like,"What is your sister's name?" He was like,"Janice." Hahaha, so we were like,"You and your sister are both named Janice?" Anyways, it turns out that his name is Denise.... hahahaha 

...I know Heavenly Father is real and I know He loves each of us. He hears your prayers! Keep praying to Him no matter what religion, of course. And if the missionaries knock on your door.. pretend that they are me! I love you all!

The spider web was our missionary booth! We were being ninjas! Also, our prizes from the chili cook off and our investigator Hilary!

I Finally Feel Like a Missionary!

My week has been great and my talk at zone conference went alright! I need to be better at speaking in front of people, I told President (Mission President who looks after a specific area of missionaries about as large as a area code) I want to develop that skill and let me teach again! So we will see. 

We have found some really awesome investigators!!!!! I think we are going to baptize soon!

Hilary- an africian american male from Nigeria! He came to church two weeks ago because his friend from Utah told him to. He loved it and wants to take the lessons! We are going to try to set a baptism date for November 22nd!! He could be my first baptism!! haha!

Thomas- a 17 year old who is very spiritual! H has been taught by missionaries before, already knows the Book of Momon is true! We are going to try to set a baptism date with him too!

Janelle- she has a huge family!! We are already teaching 3 of them.. they have a crazy past.. and are still kind of wild but I think we could help them change that and they love God:) 

So I'm so stoked about our investigators!! 

This week has been really good! I tend to gravitate toward old and sick people...lol...so I get alot of service hours and it's also how I know I am supposed to be a nurse. Saturday was rough because we had like 6 or 7 lessons planned and they all fell through! I am really feeling like a missionary now. I walk up to people's doors and talk to people on the street like its no big deal anymore. ha! 

Something funny that happened this week..... I had a mom moment. lol I accidentally introduced myself with my companion's name. I said,"Well here is this pamphlet and my name is Sister Lindsey if you have any questions you can give us a call!" and I didn't realize what I had done so my companion was like,"Sister Miller.. I'm Sister Lindsey." in front of this guy and it was awkward.. haha!!

We played the lipstick game!! haha!! The Elders look so funny! We also carved pumpkins!

Some Stories...About a Missionary!

Ok I have to write this quick but I want to share some miracles for the week and also some funny stories!!!!

1. We skipped dinner one day because we needed more time to teach and find people! So we go to Jim's house, an 87 year old investigator, and hes like,"I was born a Lutheran, I am going to die a Lutheran." But we taught him about the Plan of Happiness that God has for us. (The first time he met us he said we could only come over once a month.) We explained to him what happens after we die and we used some scriptures from the Book of Mormon. At the end of the lesson we offered to give him a Book of Mormon and he was like,"I'm going to have to decline....actually.....I'll take it.. I'll read it. Then he said we could come back in a week:) He's so cute and he has the coolest house!

2. We have been taking cold showers for a week straight!!!! I feel like Im getting the 3rd world country missionary experience.. aside from the brand new car I drive everywhere haha..perks to being in the states for a mission!

3. I did 16 hours of service this week! It was like heaven, my favorite part about the mission is service! We go visit all of these old people and sick people, then we worked the face painting booth at a fair.. we helped with a garage sale, we helped a sister in our ward move out.. it was great! We are only supposed to do 10 hours of service a week but I went on exchanges which means I went to a different area and I didn't have a choice! So it was fun:)

4. There's a new family in our ward and they are a young couple. We went to their home last night for dinner and both of them are return missionaries! It was so fun talking to them and then she gave us a bunch of her clothes she was getting rid of! It was awesome:)

5. So we were having a hard time finding people who wanted to learn about the Gospel...we were visiting some people who said we could come back but we weren't having any luck! So we said.. "That's it! Next person we see is going to be a new investigator!" Then we prayed to Heavenly Father to help us. So we go up to this house and we here a women yelling.. then a man comes to the door and looks through the window and doesn't open the door.. then the lady comes to the door and she looked at us like we were crazy. So we started talking to her and told her who we were. We found out her uncle and grandma are mormon. We gave her a spanish Book of Mormon and told her about how it will help strengthen her family. She wanted us to come back next week! So, Heavenly Father totally answered our prayer and it was so cool and I just know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers. He is in all the details of our lives!

6. So we accidently drove down a dark alley (in our car) and we were freaked out and then this huge dog comes out from behind a dumpster and my companion and I both screamed, it was super funny!!

Love you guys!

Dreams Come True!

Elder Winder drew these for me. I never thought Id be a Sister Missionary.. on a bike preaching the Gospel... lol ...and lastly, just a pretty tree we thought would make for a quick photoshoot! 

So Many Investigators!!

This week has been really great. I've been so blessed. I was asked to give a training in Missionary Leadership Training (MLC) with Sister Anderson. I was asked on Tuesday and we gave it Thursday. I was so so scared and I felt very inadequate to give it but went pretty well! Our topic was "Using Members with Boldness". I was also asked to give a talk in Sacrament  Meeting on Sunday. That talk went really well Imthought, thanks to Heavenly Father. Then this week I am giving another training in Zone Conference. Lots of opportunity to grow!

Also, we found 3 new investigators this week! Which is awesome because I'm not that good at finding new investigators! Webare getting better!

Some of the people we are teaching....

David Heaton- a less active and he knows he needs to come to church but he hasn't yet! Stinker!

The Matney's- a part-member family/ investigators. I thought they hated me because I asked them to read the Book of Mormon and they were offended. Turns out they don't hate me! We left some cute things on their door and thats all it took to gain their love back! Now we just read from the Bible.

Bro McNeely- investigator. I guess he was talking to himself in the parking lot at church... so we're a little concerned he may not have all his marbles, if you know but i mean. But he's pretty great. I like him. He reads, prays and goes to church! So hopefully he will know it is true soon!

Javier- investigator. He's only 14 and he has read 10 chapters in the Book of Mormon!! He's so awesome and loves when we come over! But we teach him with his brothers who are young single adult age. So web might have to give them to the young single adult missionaries. bummer.

Chris- an investigator. He almost got baptized when he was 12! But his parents told him no, he is 30 now. Webthink he will get baptized. Hensaid he is going to read the Book of Mormon and look into Joseph Smith!! yay!

Paul- less active/recent convert. He talks so quiet.. we just guess what he is saying most of the time. but he is very nice. He works on Sundays:( we are trying to get him to talk to his manager or take some sort of leap of faith but there is a language barrier.. he's from the Philippians.

Sister Shirts- Sister Shirts is inactive because of health reasons mostly, but she is the one who cant walk and has bad health problems. We teach her every week and I love her so much. Her and I get along really well! She  just tells me about everything. It's so cute.

Colleen- our neighbor who is a new investigator! She is sooo sweet and I'm so excited to teach her the fullness of the Gospel.

Susie- investigator. Her boyfriend is Mormon and she has a kid. She has been going through a lot lately and she is excited to start meeting with us!

Heavenly Father has blessed us with a lot of people to teach!

I'm so so excited for General Conference this weekend!!!! For those who are not LDS.... General Conference is when the Prophet and Apostles speak to the whole church across the World. You should listen so you can know were not crazy:) love you guys!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2014/10?lang=eng

Look for God's Hand

Hey! So on a non-spiritual note, I walked into the mens bathroom today and left a drink on the top of my car. Then yesterday we had dinner with a member who had a toilet that would clean your bottom for you, i was afraid to touch it!  Today we are going to an anatomy museum and I'm really excited!! 

My new companion is sooooo gooood. I love her so much!! We get along really well, we laugh and talk all the time:) I also found out I'm really bad at contacting and finding investigators so it's something I need to work on! When I was with Sister Anderson she would just do it and I'd be her backup. Butttttt now I have to do it because Sister Lindsey isn't good either. But I know we will learn and grow alot with each other! She is 15 months old so she is almost done with her mission! Woah! 

I've learned that I loooove people and I looove doing service, so that's what I spend the most amount of time doing now that I plan out our days. Which is good but we are also supposed to teach people or something.

Some of our Elders did service for an old lady and she gave them 10 bags of oranges, so we took a bad and we have been eating them! They are so good! California oranges straight from the tree. yumm!!! 

This week, my companion and I decided that we were going to look for God's hand in our life everyday. because most days don't go as planned, you can either be upset about it or you can look for the ways it went right, or how God would have had it go. So it's been really good and I've learned that you find what your looking for in life. So if you want to be miserable then look for bad things but if you want to be happy, then look at the good things and thank God for them. Then He will give you more! True story. I have also learned a lot about the scriptures!! I studied today about the Prophet Jeremiah in the Bible and how he lived at the same time as Lehi did in the beginning of the Book of Mormon. Soooo cool! The Church is so true! 

Well I love you all! Gotta go!!

This is Sister Lindsey, we played the lipstick game one night after planning... it was super fun and we were being goofy. But thats us!!

Warm Fuzzies:)

Hello peeps(<-- I'm talking like my companion, it happens!)

Soooo transfers, I am staying and my follow up trainer or my dad is Sister Lindsey!! She moves in tomorrow. I've only met her twice and we've never really talked so it'll be great!! She seems really nice:) Funny story for this week: so my companion and I were driving in the car and I've been driving this week so I can get to know our area better. So this guy pulls up beside us and he waved to us. He looked like he was in his 20's, kinda cute but.... I'm a missionary so I didn't think anything of it. But he was waving so I asked Sister Anderson if she knew him. She said,"ya I know him, roll down the window!" So I rolled down the window and we got a better view of this guy and she realized she didn't know him! He was driving with no shirt on and had some weird music playing really loud. Haha! So she was like, "Oh...wait.. I don't know him, I definitely don't know him!" By this time he started talking to us and he was like,"Hey how are you?" And we were like,"Sorry we thought you were someone else." And he was like,"What's your name?" Hahahaha... and then I was like,"SISTER MILLER!" Hahaha and his face was soooooo funny!!!!!!!!! Then he sped up...hahahaha oh my goodness we totally got hit on and it was the funniest thing ever!!!!

Ok so to make this post more spiritual..... I was reading my scriptures this morning and I really liked Luke 12:7, "But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." I loved it because it really makes you feel Heavenly Father's love and that we are so special to Him. I know He loves each of us with a perfect love. None of us are fogetten. If nothing else, as a missionary, that is my message to the world. That God lives and He loves each of us. :) So thats my warm fuzzies! I love you guys!!

Since Sister Miller is staying in Cypress here is her address:

Sister Tara Miller

5551 Lime Dr.

Cypress, CA 90630

She loves letters and mail:):) also email!!

Heavenly Father's Tender Mercies

WE MET THE STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE!! We are the first sisters in our missionto do it!! I was pretty excited!! Heavenly Father blessed us so much! All we did was plan more in advance and then everything worked out! Alright I wanted to tell you guys about this week. It has been awesome.

SO! The other day.. On Wednesday we had a specialized training about asking for referrals. During trainings we usually have to do a practice teach at the end to make sure we can put into action the things we learned. So we were doing this practice teach and the Assisent to the President (AP) came and watched me and my companion. Well...I felt a lot of pressure and my mind drew a blank because I was panicking so badly in my head. I ended up stalling for so long that we ran out of time and I didn't finish teaching. All because he was watching me! I felt so dumb and emberassed. I experienced that feeling before when I was doing my dance solo in college and I forgot it halfway through so I just stood there. Well... I shouldn't do that...lol...normally people improvise or do something but I just sat there in silence like a weirdo! So, I was really hard on myself the whole rest of the day. I cried and I felt awful! When I woke up the next morning I had a flood of emotions and thoughts. Just being a missionary is hard and it makes you hard on yourself. Anyways, I prayed to Heavenly Father. I told Him I can't feel this way because I teach people that through Jesus Christ your burdens can be lifted. I teach people that through Him, if you rely on Him, and trust on Him that He will makes you feel better and lift your burdens. I asked Heavenly Father to make me feel better and He did. Instantly I felt better. This is always a cool experience because you think it only happens to other people but I promise Heavenly Father answers prayers. So that was a really spiritual and tender moment for me.

Then!! We had district meeting that day (more training) and we had ANOTHER practice teach, this was similar to the one I failed to do the day before, the one I freaked out on. I was paired with an Elder who had been struggling. So, I started by talking about prayer and I asked him if he ever had a time in his life where Heavenly Father answered his prayer. He said yes and he continued to tell me a really personal story from his life. He had a very powerful testimony of prayer. Well practice teaches are usually hypothetical senarios but he made it real. I thanked him for sharing his experience and I told him about the one I had that morning. Then, we talked some more and somehow we got to talking about the things he was struggling with. He told me that it is hard for him to talk to people and share the Gospel with them. As missionaries we talk to everyone. We talk to all the people we see on the streets and he struggles with that because well its just hard! He said there was a time on his mission when he could do it but now its hard for him again. I told him that Heavenly Father knows what he is going through. I told him that Heavenly Father knows he is doing his best, and doing his best is a state of his heart not a matter of what he is doing. I told him that if all he can do is say,"hello, how are you?" then that is all he can do and it is good enough. Well this Elder broke down in tears. He told me that is exactly what he needed to hear. The amazing part is I feel like I didn't do anything, I was just telling him some of the things I have learned on my mission. But from this Imlearned that Heavenly Father knew that this Elder and I needed to be partners and He knew that I needed to learn these things on my mission so that I could help him. It had nothing to do with me and everyhting to do with him. I feel like my whole mission led up to that moment. It was soooooo cool and spiritual!!

Another experience I had that day was with a less active lady that we teach. She doesn't come to church because she is mad at God because she is elderly and cannot walk. She hasn't been able to walk for 10 years and she feels like it is a waste of life. She wants to die, she has told us this. But I love this lady so much so I wrote her a peom. I haven't written poetry in awhile but I decided to for her. I wrote :

 

Velda, come sit with me and let me wash your feet, please tell me what you think you need 

Master, Savior, Brother, why did you take away my legs?

Why did you leave me on earth for so long, when I had to sit and sit each day?

I lived a good life, I loved I served, I tried and tried

But then I couldn't walk and I thought I would rather die

Velda, I love you and that love with never change

I left you on Earth for only a short time

I took away your legs but Inblessed you with your mind

Each time you almost died, I gave you life

I was there when you cried

Each time you fell and each time you sighed

I cried, I fell, I sighed as well

But when I tried to hold your hand

I waited at the door for you to let me in

You didn't see that I was there

To comfort to guide, to make your burden thin

Please Velda, don't drift away from Me

I am here. I will wait.

Please be greatful, be humble, be kind

Please try to understand, I have never left your side.

 

When I looked up after reading this to her, she was crying. I knew that Heavenly Father needed me to write this poem for her and that He helped me to write it. It was such a tender experience for me.

 

So with all of these experiences I have learned that Heavenly Father knows each of us and that He puts people in our lives for a reason. He is involved in all aspects of our lives. My final example of this this week is with Brother McNeely. My MissionPresident's Wife came and did studies with us on Tuesday. While we were talking about Brother McNeely she asked us if we ever thought about inviting Him to go to the LA Temple to go to the visitors center. We hadn't thought about it. Then...we went to his lesson with Sister Weick. After we said our prayer and before we saw Brother McNeely, she asked us if we ever thought about taking him to the LA Temple visitors center. So at that point my companion and I were like,"Ok Heavenly Father we get it" :) So then!! We had an aweosme lesson that night about feeling the Spirit. The next lesson we had be brought Sister Nagel. She was baptized 3 years ago and she shared her testimony of how she knew the Church was true. It was perfect for Brother McNeely! She was on her way to the gym and she turned around just so she could come to our lesson. Pure inspiration. Then we had another lesson with him a few days later and we brought Sister Pugeda. She is also a convert and she recieved her answer that she needed to be baptized at the Temple!!!!! So she shared her experience and it was one of the most powerful lessons that I have had on my mission. At the end of the lesson, Sister Anderson and I promised Brother McNeely that he will find his answer at the temple when he goes. He is going with Sister Weick on Tuesday!!! I'm so excited for him to go!!! Then is yet another example that Heavenly Father knows us and knows what we need.

 

This week has been so great! The mission is so awesome and this is truly Heavenly Father's work!

 Love you guys!

1...ok so sister anderson and i designed our own shirts! arent they cool!!

2...sister anderson and i went to the mall today! i felt like a real girl!

3...and finally that is a picture of sister and brother shirts (the one i wrote the poem for)

:) :) :)

The Longer I'm Here, The More I Know The Church Is True

This week!!

Alright, this week was waaaay better than last week which is weird because we had tons of lessons last week and not as many this week but it just goes to show that numbers aren't important!

Story time: so I go to a member's house and she gives me a big hug and a really wet kiss on the cheek. My cheek was wet all of dinner but I didn't want to be mean and wipe off her kiss haha. I feel the love.

This week I learned that there is a lot more to a mission than I ever thought. Yes we are here to teach but Heavenly Father shows you your weaknesses and it is a time where we are completely dependent on the Lord and able to overcome anything. I am speaking mostly for other missionaries (I haven't been through it YET) but woah! The mission brings things out of you that are really deep because Heavenly Father knows you can overcome it! Kind of cool, but it also is what makes the mission so hard.

We had a member give us an entire cheesecake! A whole cheesecake that she made homemade. It was really awesome but I am trying to have self-mastery and show Heavenly Father how much I love him by eating healthy. So I didn't have any. And it was hard!

My companion and I had to go see the Mission President to talk and while we were there he challenged us to be the first sister missionaries to reach the Standard of Excellence Goal, sooooo challenge accepted!! That means 12 member present lessons, 3 new investigators, on time in the morning and at night, and some other things I cant remember off the top of my head. But I'm excited it is going to be a killer week. And by that I mean that we will be able to help a lot of people come closer to Jesus Christ because we are going to work really hard! I'm excited!

We are teaching a guy, Brother McNeely and he is funny. We ask him a question and he takes in a mile from what we asked him so its kind of hard to stay focused but I love him anyway! He has been praying and reading about the Book of Mormon. He also has been coming to church. So thats awesome! He gave up alcohol but he hasn't given up coffee or cigarretts yet. But he is doing so good!

Last week was my very favorite lesson of my whole mission! We had a Family Home Evening with her family and she invited all of her friends and family. It was like a party and we played a game and had a lesson. It was so fun! We laughed and laughed and had a lesson about how the Gospel blesses families. It made me happy:) We love her. When we ask her a question we would be like, "How do you think it would help you to have a second witness of Jesus Christ?" She will pause for a second and then she would say something like "....so you guys can't have instagram?" haha!

Anyways, the longer I am here the more I know the church is true. Im so greatful for the people here. I hope everyhting is good in Colorado and Utah!

I got two packages this week!! One from my mom and also from my friend from the U. Thank you so much!!!!! I will write you all back ASAP! Packages and letters bring me so much joy! I am so lucky to have such good friends an family and I can feel the prayers and faith of the people I love back home. Thank you! Love you all!

A member gave us allllll of these shoes!!!

Wearing my new dress from my mom and showing off my things I got in my packages!!

Can't Wait to be a Nurse

My training went really well!!! People really liked it:) Sothat was relieving. 

Thevmore I am here, the more it solidifies my aspiring nursing career! I perk up every time someone talks about medical. One of the people in my zone threw up blood (he is ok) and I was looking at all the pictures. But not only that, I just miss learning about the body and I am currently learning how to love and serve all the people around me. Nurses do this all the time!! So I cant wait to be a nurse:)

One hard thing about being a missionary is that people really open up to you and so you know everything they are going through. It makes you sad when they are going through hard things. We really do mourn with those who mourn. but I love getting to know people on a deeper level.

Today, a lady gave us 4 pair of brand new shoes! I feel so blessed!

oh!!!! This week I found out what it means to "know someone from Adam" I always thought it was "know someone from Atom" MIND BLOWN! haha

hmmm I can't think of antyhing else, but Inknow we had an awesome week:) I'm very happy! but I do miss home and I do miss college! Loveyou guys!!!!!!

I love these sisters! It's Sister Olar, Anderson, and George. Sister George is the first missionary I have really connected with on my mission. She is a nurse! So this night we had an interpretive dance party. we needed to act like girls for a minute instead of Sister Missionaries! It was much needed:)

Speed Week

This week in a nutshell, I went on exchanges and it was awesome because I lead the area for my first time. Which means I had to drive, know where everything is, plan the lessons and pretty much do everything. Heavenly Father knew this is what I needed because I was questioning my abilities and this gave me more confidence. Like "oh, I can be a missionary and teach lessons and talk to people on the street!" So thats what we did:)

I knocked my first door (where I actually talked the whole time) and I had a nice conversation with this lady about Jesus Christ but she was happy in her religion. So that was good, then we went to bring cookies to an investigator because her friend had just died. When we went over, her daughter and aunt were there. So I was able to teach all of them the Plan of Salvation. Heavenly Father richly blessed us:) Also, we went and visited a family that hadn't been active for a long time and when we knocked on their door they weren't suprised at all to see us and they invited us in. They said they just visited their family in Utah and while they had time to ponder in the car ride home they decided it was time that they started going to church again. They have a 6 year old daughter and I love them all so much! They are Tongan:) Also, they want to be sealed in the temple next year! That was such a miracle. The first lesson we had with them, we were all crying because the Spirit was so strong. 

Last week, a lady gave me and my companion a fig from her yard. It was kinda good! I have never had a fresh fig before! Tomorrow, I have to give a training to all the leaders in the mission. All of the zone leaders, the AP's, the sister training leaders, and the district leaders and I am soooo nervous! It's on teaching with enthusiasm. So it's weird because I'm a baby missionary teaching all the experienced missionaries. eeeeeeek. I will tell you how it goes next week! So that was my week:) 

Highlight of My Week was Church!

Hello friends!

Another week in the sun:) I looooove my mission. Ive been sick for the past few days which hasn't been so good. But I'm better now yay! I went to Long Beach today and I saw the beach for like two seconds! We drove past it! We actually went to the aquarium which was really really really expensive. But it was fun! Transfers, I'm staying in Cypress with Sister Anderson to finish training! Then we will see. Alright, I don't have tons of time but I'm gunna fill you in on some mission lingo.

my mom = my trainer

my dad = the follow-up trainer

my grandma = my trainer's trainer

my grandpa = my trainer's follow-up trainer

yomo =you only mission once

to kill = to send someone home

baby area = the area you started your mission

Haha it's fun. The highlight of my week was church! No joke, it was soo good this Sunday, we had 4 investigators there! Not only that but we talked about service, gratitude and Adam and Eve and it was just. so. good. :) My ward is so awesome. A lady brought me toast, soup and medicine when I wasn't feeling good. So that was my week in a nutshell! 

Fun fact, in the past 6 weeks, my companion and I have had a total of 122 lessons. Woah man! Love you guys! Email me! I miss you!

"My Name is Sister Miller and I'm Ready to Show!"

This week we spent with our one week missionary:) She was so awesome, she actually joined the church only a year ago. It was so good having her around because she really added a lot of energy to our companionship! I feel like I am less.. fun on my mission because I'm really focused. So it was good to have her make me laugh! 

This week has been sooooo crazy! I had my first zone conference which means that we were in a 6 hour long meeting. Sound awful but it was actually really really good and very inspiring. One thing I wanted to share that I learned was how we can change! Because changing is really hard whether its a physical change, a change in location, or a spiritual change. an example of change in the scriptures is Moses in Exodus 3:1-18. Or in the Book of Mormon you can read about Zeezrom in Alma 15:1-12. Basically, you have to be humble to change. Then you have to act and then you have to ask Heavenly Father for help. In order for Him to help you do those things you need to have a vision or a desire to change (usually brought from humility). then dont go through it alone! Have someone help you. Finally, never give up and report to someone about your progress:) It is a continual cycle to "do" in order to "be". So I hope that helps you guys! Imthought it was very helpful!

On Thursday we had a talent show! At first I was scared because I don't really have stage talent but the missionaries in the ward did a rap! So we dressed up in baggy clothes and beepboxed! My verse was:

I walk down the streets trying to teach the gospel

Telling you how to not be so awful

So get ready for this

Why don't you come and get some

Comin at me bro

We work until we're done

From my head to my toe

Ill give you some mo'

My name is Sister Miller and I'm ready to show

If you ready the Book of Mormon,

It'll change your life

Ill teach you bout Christ

But I wont be your wife!

 

I didn't write it:) but people thought it was funny.

So transfers are coming up which means that I might switch companion or I might switch areas andI'm  FREEAKING out because I don't know whats going to happen. eek!!! Transfers happen every six weeks and my first transfer has gone by soooooo fast! This week I've just been trying to love people like Jesus Christ does.

So that's been all! love you guys!

Miracles :):)

A week full of miracles!!! Our ward is doing a 40 day fast which means that each person in the ward signs up for a day that they will fast for missionary work. Fasting means they don't eat or drink anything for 2 meals. We have been blessed so much because of it! 

Miracle #1: Webhad a reaaalllyyy long day and we only had an hour until we needed to be home. We were visiting a boy named Isaac but he wasnt home and his dad, Henry answered the door. We talked to him a little bit and we said a prayer with him then we started teaching him about faith. He already had tons of faith is Jesus Christ because he's Catholic! Then  I showed him the scripture in John chapter 10 when it talks about Jesus Christ visiting "his other sheep" meaning the people talked about in the Book of Mormon. Then! he said that he has already been reading the Book of Mormon! 

Miracle #2: We gave a pamphlet to a girl on the street that was talking on the phone. We were going opposite directions so we didn't have time to stop and give her our information. Then we went and saw one of our invetigators and after we were done, we ran into the girl again! But, she was still on the phone so we just wrote her a note on a sticky note that said,"Heavenly Father loves you! We hope you have a good day, call us if you have any questions! blah blah" :) and then we drove away. So later that day we were driving and we saw her again!! On a different street and she was reading the pamphlet! So I was like, "Heavenly Father pleeaassee have her call us!" and then on Sunday, she called! She asked us why she wrote that note and what we do. We told her that we wrote it because we felt like we needed to and because Heavenly Father does love her! She said she really needed it that day and that she is searching for truth. We also told her that our purpose as missionaries is to bring people closer to Christ. She was interested and so we set up a time to meet with her! Then before we went into our appointment, we said a prayer (like we always do) and randomly, Sister Anderson (my companion) prayed for a baptismal date. After the prayer we pondered for a few minutes. The date Aug 16 came to my mind and it also came to hers. We checked our planners and it was on a saturday!! (which is the day that we normally do baptisms). So then we had our lesson with her and she comitted to be baptised!! She is truly amazing because she is really intune with the Spirit and how she is feeling. It doesn't even sound real but it has just been a testimony builder for me that this church is true!

Miracle #3: We were leaving church and our ward mission leader, Brother Brunner, texted us and told us there was a family on the street that was outside. He said we should go talk to them! So we did, because thats what we do! We drove over and we talked to this women and her two little kids were playing in the pool. We came and introduced ourselves and it turns out that she already knew Sister  Anderson because she helped them move into their house. She said that everytime we come, it is a time in her life that is really stressful but she wanted us to come back and teach her more! Then we met her neighbor who is also going to come to the lessons. It was sooo amazing!

I seriously love the people in Long Beach and my purpose is to bring people closer to Jesus Christ. I'm not a very good teacher, but I know that Jesus Christ makes up for what I lack and I know that this church is true and that the Book of Mormon is true!!!

Anyways!! On Monday we played Mafia for like 4 hours! That was super fun for anyone who has played that before:) and then today has been soooo good because we were able to go to the temple. Then on the way back, a member took us to breakfast and we went to do a little shopping. It was soooo good!! Also, we got a mini missionary! Which means that we have a missionary that will only be with us for a week and she is 17 yrs old. Her name is Sister Wise and she really fun and nice. 

My companion and I are trying to eat really good! We have cream of wheat for breakfast, veggies, pesto noodles, and chicken for lunch. Then we have two brazillian nuts and whatever people feed us for dinner. But no dessert or candy. It's like so easy to gain weight on the mission. I've been trying so hard to lose weight and I'm just staying the same. But I just feel a lot better when I eat better! 

So that's my missionary life:) love you all!