Hermana Miller

On Sunday Pedro wore a white shirt and tie. He blessed the sacrament. He was really nervous, but did really well. It was cool to see him and Gilberto, a re-activating less active blessing the sacrament together. Another cool thing that happened on Sunday? The first Sunday in my entire mission I didn't play piano! It was so strange! A new American family decided to come to our ward, instead of the English ward, and now we have a young men's president (finally!), and a pianist for sacrament meeting! It is an exciting development. But now I don't know what to do during church...sit with members, I guess. It was so strange not sitting in my seat.

There are still ants on my pillow. I woke up with one on my FACE the other day (ew.).

I attached a picture of us with an Elder in our mission. He just started about 3 transfers ago and guess what!? Looking through the Liahona one day, I saw a picture of him. Later, I showed it to him, and he confirmed it was him! It was so exciting, we got him to sign our copies of the Liahona at Zone Conference. He was pleased to do it. He is from England. Wow! What a story. :)

We had a cool experience two Sundays ago that I forgot to mention. Due to various circumstances beyond my control, we were quite behind on contacts, and since we turn in numbers on Sunday, it's the day to catch up. We were also had three lessons to teach (which is a daily goal, anyway). Some missionaries hand out pass-along cards and call it a contact. Sister Summers and I don't believe in that. It would have been easy to get the numbers that way, but instead, we decided to walk the neighborhood and talk to people in the street and go to a parking lot as a last resort. We were blessed. Not only did we get a few street lessons (where we teach a contact right when we find him), we also met some cool people. As we walked home, the last person we saw also turned out to be the last contact we needed to meet our goal. We were truly blessed for doing Heavenly Father's work the best that we knew how. I know that when we put in our part, He puts in His. I have seen that manifest throughout my mission. From funny "coincidences," to following "silly thoughts" that end up being spiritual promptings, God's hand has truly been very active in my life the past 18 months. I know that it's not just because I'm a missionary, but because I'm doing those things God expects us to do if we want His spirit to be with us. Looking back, I realize I have:

1. prayed and looked for the Lord's will;

2. studied the scriptures for an hour daily;

3. written my spiritual experiences in my journal; and

4. learned about and applied the doctrine of the sacrament (still working on this one).

You may or may not recall that this is the list of things President Martineau said we needed to do to have the spirit with us and receive revelation daily (plus temple attendance). I know that every one has the right to the spirit and that we can all have him as a constant companion...missionary and civilian alike.

I love the gospel. I love the scriptures. I love my Heavenly Father. I know the gospel is true. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I love that book. I know we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father, and He has a plan for all of us. Sometimes it is hard to realize (identify) or accept His will, but when we do, we can be truly happy. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that the church of Jesus Christ was restored through him, along with Christ's authority and all necessary saving ordinances and the pure doctrine of Christ. Jesus Christ is my Savior and I know that only though His true church can we take full advantage of His expiatory sacrifice and return to His and our Heavenly Father's presence to live forever with our families. I am so grateful for this knowledge and for your constant support through my experience in Puerto Rico.

I love you!

Love,

Hermana Miller

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571: Also, we caught a little lizard one day and took some pictures. It was teeny-tiny! Sooo cute!

590: This is a little girl in our ward. Do your remember Darla from Finding Nemo? All the animals are scared of her? She is kind of like that. She also has lots of animals, which is ironic. This is one of her recent acquisitions, a little chick. I fear for her (the chick). It was so soft and fluffy! I am really red in this picture because I did not protect myself from the sun that day and then we went on a nice stroll for a couple hours to talk to people. It was sunny outside!