Just a reminder of Janae's talk on Sunday. Our Church starts at 9 - you are welcome to come to all of the meetings. We have Sacrament meeting last at 10:50. Our chapel is on 98th south and about 4200 west (Skye Drive). Remember that the clocks change on Sunday morning.
You are invited after wards to our home for a light lunch. I think everyone has told me something they are bringing. If you can't remember, let me know.
Looking forward to seeing everyone.
I finished Jesus the Christ. Wow. It was so good. Everyone should read it. I've been reading it since the CCM but really have just dedicated myself to it the last few transfers. I think I want to read every book written by James E. Talmage; I learned so much. I look forward to reading The Great Apostasy and The Articles of Faith, both by him (He cites himself a lot in Jesus the Christ). I am now working on finishing The Book of Mormon in Spanish...another project I started in my first transfer that has been an on-and-off sort of thing. I just started Ether this morning. When I finish, I'll know it is time to go home. :) Speaking of which: I'm so excited to see you! But enough of that for now.
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. :)
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!
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
**************************
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!HERMANA MILLER TO RETURN TO UTAH
Janae will be flying into Salt Lake on Monday March 7th at 3:10 in the afternoon. Anyone who would like to meet us is welcome to. We are flying in on American Flight 3756 from Chicago ORD.
Also,
The Bishop just called and wants Janae to speak in church on the 13th of March. Our Sacrament meeting is last and starts at 10:45. Hope to see you there. We will be doing something at our home after wards. If you will be coming please let me know (801-282-6036) so that I can arrange the food. Our meetings start at 9 if you want to join us for all the meetings.
Hope you all can make it to one of these to Welcome Hermana Miller back home.
Dear Family,
Zone conference was great. Sister Summers and I really prepared for it well, I think. It was interesting, because although it took us a month, on Monday while telling her about what I learned in personal study, I finally realized that the conversion pattern is really just the gospel of Jesus Christ. The steps that every one takes in their conversion is (first desire, then) faith, repentance, and then some sort of covenant-making event. Then, they all want to go and share it with every one. We were just so excited when we finally came to that realization, we were practically jumping for joy. We felt ridiculous, because it seems so simple, but we felt more ridiculous when, later, we found that it says just that in True to the Faith. I don't know how many times I've read the entry on conversion in that book and in the Bible dictionary, but they both mention both conversion and the gospel of Jesus Christ, but I never really put it together or completely understood before. I am grateful for the opportunity we all had to really study and learn about conversion. I know that I have come to understand and know Heavenly Father better through this process; because conversion is the process whereby we can come to know Heavenly Father and prepare to return to him (the gospel of Jesus Christ!). It was a wonderful learning exercise.
This week in Guaynabo has been typical. We are looking for an apartment and have done a lot of contacting while searching. Unfortunately, a less-active practically asked us to not visit her anymore after zone conference, which was really disappointing. In spite of this, I know that there are other less actives who are progressing. We went last night to visit Ida and she let us in and told us that she likes to read the Book of Mormon at work, when she can. I think she really has a testimony, but that she just doesn't come to church consistently because of a little bit of laziness. She works at 2 on Sunday, and so she says that she has to run out really fast to make it to work on time, so she doesn't always come; and that she is tired a lot of Sunday mornings. We have real hope for her though, because it is apparent she has a testimony, and however weak it may be, we can help her.
This week in Guaynabo has been typical. We are looking for an apartment and have done a lot of contacting while searching. Unfortunately, a less-active practically asked us to not visit her anymore after zone conference, which was really disappointing. In spite of this, I know that there are other less actives who are progressing. We went last night to visit Ida and she let us in and told us that she likes to read the Book of Mormon at work, when she can. I think she really has a testimony, but that she just doesn't come to church consistently because of a little bit of laziness. She works at 2 on Sunday, and so she says that she has to run out really fast to make it to work on time, so she doesn't always come; and that she is tired a lot of Sunday mornings. We have real hope for her though, because it is apparent she has a testimony, and however weak it may be, we can help her.
I am grateful for the opportunity I have had as a missionary and love helping people come to know about and understand the gospel. I love Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon, and I know that it is true. I know that this is the church of Jesus Christ, the only true and living church on the earth.
Love,
Hermana Miller.
I'm just warning you all because I had never had any such warning. I pass the word on for safety purposes. It was not pretty. We were visiting a less active whose husband used to work as a vegetarian chef, so he brings us some really random things sometimes, and what we experienced this week was sesame seed juice. It didn't even strike me as odd that someone would attempt to make juice from sesame seeds as he shoved it into our hands, trying to explain it in his broken English. A little concerned but with the prevailing feeling that, "It couldn't be that bad," I tried it and was immediately repulsed. It is gross. I couldn't even make it through half the glass. It was chunky and...I don't even know how he made it. Sesame seeds (in case you didn't know) don't have juice! It was weird. Please don't ever try it.
We found a new less active this week, Iris. She was happy that we came (which is a different response than usual). I feel like she was waiting for us. She has a daughter who is having some major problems right now, and was so relieved that we had come to find her and that we could pray with her. She committed to come to church when we invited her and even confessed that she currently attends the neighborhood branch of Discipulos de Cristo. She (as do most less actives) asked about Sylvia. I am very impressed with all the wonderful service Hermana Sierra has done in this ward. Everyone knows and loves her. She is a wonderful example.
Also, I have seen wonderful improvements in Pedro and Rafaela since he was baptized. I am so happy to see the benefits of following Christ's example through this couple. They came to church for the full 3 hours on Sunday for the first time since I've been here, and they said they loved it. There is an increased love in their relationship and a greater measure of the spirit in their home. I love them and am very excited for this new path they are starting down together.
I have been studying conversion for the last month. It is very interesting, and I see a consistent pattern in nearly all the stories, though manifested in different ways. I have studied several, including: Nephi; Enos; Lamoni; Paul; Zeezrom; Amulek; Lamanites and Nephite dissenters in Helaman 5; Ethiopian Eunuch; and Cornelius. The list to study is a lot longer; there are tons of conversion stories in the scriptures! Also, in connection with Zeezrom I studied Korihor (one of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon) as a comparison exercise. Along with Korihor I was able to study the stories of Nehor and Sherem as well. It was interesting to see the commonalities between those who were converted and those who were not converted. Some major themes I have observed are the following:
1. Desire. Everyone has the desire to come unto Christ and to know the truth. Like I mentioned above, every one's desire is manifest in a distinct manner, but all of them have a true desire to do right. For example: today I studied Paul. Saul was a well-trained Jew and a strict Pharisee. I think he honestly thought he was doing right in breaking down Christianity, because as soon as he realized he as doing wrong, he changed. I read the scripture in John 16:2 which says that many who would break down the gospel would think they were doing God a service. I think Saul was one in this category, because as soon as he realized he was wrong, he re-directed his course and then continued zealously fighting for the cause that he believed in. Because he had the innate desire to do what was right, he was responsive to the invitation to act.
2. Agency. All the stories I have studied underline the importance of agency in God's eternal plan. Every single convert had been invited to act before his complete conversion. For example: today I studied in Helaman 5 when Nephi and Lehi were in prison with the Lamanites and Nephite dissenters. When they asked what they were to do, Aminidab told them to pray until they had faith in Christ. They responded and the cloud of doubt and skepticism represented by the smoky atmosphere was removed from their minds and spirits. It was especially interesting for me that they had to act until they received a response.
3. Perseverance. Many of the conversion experiences were fast, and others took a while, but what is common in all of them is the convert's perseverance in looking for and receiving an answer. After time of truly looking for what was right, they were finally able to receive, or perhaps recognize the response. A wonderful example of this is above from Helaman 5, or also in Enos. We learn that Enos prayed all day and into the night. I don't think that the lesson in this story is that we need to get onto our knees and pray until we get a response. Maybe...but for me, the lesson is more that we continue praying, through the days, months, and years until we get a response. It is such an important pattern, because although we would all like to see an angel and just know without effort, where is the growth in that? What's more, where is the exercise of agency?
4. Covenants. After finding out for themselves, everyone has a desire to make covenants with God, to show their love for and dedication to Him. My favorite example of this is that of the Ethiopian Eunuch. I love what he says to Phillip after they learn together from the scriptures about Christ: "And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?" He had that desire to make a covenant and then acted according to his desire and was baptized.
5. Sharing. After finding their happiness in the gospel and through covenant making, they have the desire to go on and share their experience with others. It is a completely irrepressible joy to participate in the conversion of others.
There is so much more I have learned in these past couple weeks, such as humility; obedience; the role of others in the conversion process; the role of the atonement; etc. I have absolutely loved this assignment, and I feel like I have grown and learned so much by doing an intensive study of several related stories. You should do it to! Then, you can bore people on your blog as you discuss what you've learned instead of talking about what you did all week...(I don't remember what we did all week!).
Also, I have seen wonderful improvements in Pedro and Rafaela since he was baptized. I am so happy to see the benefits of following Christ's example through this couple. They came to church for the full 3 hours on Sunday for the first time since I've been here, and they said they loved it. There is an increased love in their relationship and a greater measure of the spirit in their home. I love them and am very excited for this new path they are starting down together.
I have been studying conversion for the last month. It is very interesting, and I see a consistent pattern in nearly all the stories, though manifested in different ways. I have studied several, including: Nephi; Enos; Lamoni; Paul; Zeezrom; Amulek; Lamanites and Nephite dissenters in Helaman 5; Ethiopian Eunuch; and Cornelius. The list to study is a lot longer; there are tons of conversion stories in the scriptures! Also, in connection with Zeezrom I studied Korihor (one of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon) as a comparison exercise. Along with Korihor I was able to study the stories of Nehor and Sherem as well. It was interesting to see the commonalities between those who were converted and those who were not converted. Some major themes I have observed are the following:
1. Desire. Everyone has the desire to come unto Christ and to know the truth. Like I mentioned above, every one's desire is manifest in a distinct manner, but all of them have a true desire to do right. For example: today I studied Paul. Saul was a well-trained Jew and a strict Pharisee. I think he honestly thought he was doing right in breaking down Christianity, because as soon as he realized he as doing wrong, he changed. I read the scripture in John 16:2 which says that many who would break down the gospel would think they were doing God a service. I think Saul was one in this category, because as soon as he realized he was wrong, he re-directed his course and then continued zealously fighting for the cause that he believed in. Because he had the innate desire to do what was right, he was responsive to the invitation to act.
2. Agency. All the stories I have studied underline the importance of agency in God's eternal plan. Every single convert had been invited to act before his complete conversion. For example: today I studied in Helaman 5 when Nephi and Lehi were in prison with the Lamanites and Nephite dissenters. When they asked what they were to do, Aminidab told them to pray until they had faith in Christ. They responded and the cloud of doubt and skepticism represented by the smoky atmosphere was removed from their minds and spirits. It was especially interesting for me that they had to act until they received a response.
3. Perseverance. Many of the conversion experiences were fast, and others took a while, but what is common in all of them is the convert's perseverance in looking for and receiving an answer. After time of truly looking for what was right, they were finally able to receive, or perhaps recognize the response. A wonderful example of this is above from Helaman 5, or also in Enos. We learn that Enos prayed all day and into the night. I don't think that the lesson in this story is that we need to get onto our knees and pray until we get a response. Maybe...but for me, the lesson is more that we continue praying, through the days, months, and years until we get a response. It is such an important pattern, because although we would all like to see an angel and just know without effort, where is the growth in that? What's more, where is the exercise of agency?
4. Covenants. After finding out for themselves, everyone has a desire to make covenants with God, to show their love for and dedication to Him. My favorite example of this is that of the Ethiopian Eunuch. I love what he says to Phillip after they learn together from the scriptures about Christ: "And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?" He had that desire to make a covenant and then acted according to his desire and was baptized.
5. Sharing. After finding their happiness in the gospel and through covenant making, they have the desire to go on and share their experience with others. It is a completely irrepressible joy to participate in the conversion of others.
There is so much more I have learned in these past couple weeks, such as humility; obedience; the role of others in the conversion process; the role of the atonement; etc. I have absolutely loved this assignment, and I feel like I have grown and learned so much by doing an intensive study of several related stories. You should do it to! Then, you can bore people on your blog as you discuss what you've learned instead of talking about what you did all week...(I don't remember what we did all week!).
I love you,
Hermana Miller
Note on the picture: I don't know if I've ever sent a picture of the cockroaches they have here, but we had a HUGE one this week. This is us being a daring and picking up the corpse with a piece of toilet paper and taking pictures. (Raid is very powerful, by-the-way: it kills on the spot). They have wings and are ugly.
Do you believe that someone could really be an investigator for that long? Well, it turns out that yes! And not only that, we have one here in Guaynabo! His name is Pedro. he is 76 years old and his entire family was baptized in 1978. One of his daughters is married in the temple. He never wanted to join the church, even though every missionary who has ever worked in Guaynabo knows him and has worked with him. About a year ago he started attending church regularly. About 7 months ago, we got here and started visiting him every week. And then the Elders got here, and they, too visited him weekly. He refused to allow us to set a baptismal date for the longest time. Eventually, he said he would get baptized...eventually, but that he would be the one to set the date. We couldn't get him past that point. About 2 months ago, Hermana Comoletti came to town. She recommended that us four missionaries do a special fast for him to select a date. He accepted the date, and long story short? He got baptized on Saturday! This is a picture of him with his wife and the Relief Society President. Every one was so happy when they announced his baptism in Sacrament meeting, and I can see a real change in his home life and relationship with his wife too. Not that they were ever bad, but they are just better now. Fasting has a true power to help ourselves and others. I know that because we had faith and fasted, Pedro was blessed. He is awesome; I love them.
Lastly, we stopped at some of my favorite graffiti this week to take a picture of it. That is also attached, as is a picture of our dog, Sweetie. :) I love her. She is so cute.
Thank you for your love and support!
After the baptism, a member invited us to Dunkin' Donuts for a donut and hot chocolate...so we went! This is a picture of our adventure there. We, being the only girls in the group, sat at the reject table (all alone), but it turned out we had more fun, because who wants to talk to boys anyways?
In other exciting news: Olga, the less active who is progressing has taken yet another step towards the temple! She has drunk coffee for a long time, and was slowly trying to quit. She went on a cruise a couple months ago and completely quit. When she came back, she didn't drink it again for another couple weeks, but then picked it up again because she makes it for other people (she feeds homeless people that walk by her house and also, she made it for workers in her house). We talked about taking it from her, and she thought we were joking and vaguely committed to put it in her father's home. When we came back this week, we brought a box and she gave it to us! So, she is completely coffee free now! She is really progressing a lot and it is very exciting. Here is a picture of us with the coffee maker outside our house when we got home that night. We were happy and made silly faces.
Also, I keep finding ants on my bed. I know that is very strange, and it is not like there are a lot of them, but there are just a few here and there. For example, at any one time, perhaps about 5-7. They don't bite or anything, but come on...who wants to sleep with ants? We changed our laundry detergent, so perhaps it is a sweeter laundry detergent. I woke up one day and there was one one my eyebrow, and I thought it was a piece of hair. I prefer to not be touched by bugs.
Lastly, we stopped at some of my favorite graffiti this week to take a picture of it. That is also attached, as is a picture of our dog, Sweetie. :) I love her. She is so cute.
Thank you for your love and support!
Love,
Hermana Miller
Dear Family,
Once again, this has been a fairly uneventful week. I doubt Puerto Rico has gotten less exciting, I think I have just become less excitable. I really feel like there are no surprises any more, and I just work.
I should note however, the interesting man we met outside the train station yesterday. His name was Wilfredo. Once we got talking, we found out he had visited the church before and had possibly been baptized. As we continued talking however, we came to find out why he no longer attends church. When asked whether he still reads in the Book of Mormon or not, he promptly replied that he "delivered" that to one of the ex-bishops. "Why is that?" I replied, and received an answer that was fairly entertaining. The ex-bishop was a member of the FBI, and Wilfredo said that he was being helped by him (it seems the FBI stole his identity and gave it to a criminal or something). He says that he doesn't read the Bible or the Book of Mormon anymore because that is how the CIA and FBI can track us, and they do it using radio waves. I'm not really sure what we said, but we were able to escape without any problem. Sometimes I wonder if people actually believe the things they tell us, or if they just do it for kicks and giggles, to see how we respond...or to give us a good story. Although he seemed fairly normal, I'm pretty sure he genuinely believed what he was saying.
In other news, we are still teaching people.... Every day. We've been able to talk to lots and share the gospel with them. Unfortunately, Saima seems to be avoiding us (a great disappointment since she was genuinely cool), and Wanda called us today to tell us she had made a decision (about whether to...I don't know, listen to us? Come to church? Be baptized?), and that decision is no. So, we don't get to visit her anymore. I don't think I've ever had someone call me to break up with us. It is a Puerto-Rican first, and we were a little surprised. Usually people just avoid us (see above, Saima). So, basically, we are back to looking for new people to teach, and have even resorted to searching for more less actives to teach. There seem to be a lot, so that is a fairly bottom-less pit...I mean pool...teaching pool.
It has been very sunny all week, which is good for my tan. haha. Like I tan. I don't seem to be burning any more though, even though I don't apply sunscreen any longer (yuck, I'm sick of the stuff). I may come back with skin cancer, but I won't smell like a trip to the beach anymore. In fact, I smell like vanilla now because a couple weeks ago I bought some more perfume (I left mine at home with the fear that the bugs would attack me, but as it turns out, they attacked me without the perfume anyway, so I thought I would start using it again, and smell pretty.). It is the same scent I used before I left, so it reminds me of Indiana when I put it on, which is interesting. Isn't it interesting how smells and sounds/music can take you back in time? I love that.
I know this letter has been rather boring and non-missionary-ish, I'm just a little disappointed in our recent set-backs and would rather focus on my new perfume and our funny contacts.
Okay, here is a good story...I guess. A classic "we were led by the Lord" story. We went to look for a less active one day who hardly ever opens her door, and who is hardly never home, but we were completely out of back-up plans (we make about 5 back-up back-up plans for the last hour of the day, because it always seems no one is available), so we went looking for her. In the elevator up to her house, we met a lady who has a Book of Mormon in her house and wants to start learning more about it again. It was exciting because we could set a cita and we're going to teach her more about the Book of Mormon. yay! That was a fun time.
We also found a less active in her home who we haven't been able to teach for a long time. In fact, Hermana Comoletti never even met her, so that was a true miracle too. Additionally, two less actives made it to church on Sunday, even though one, in response to our lesson about keeping the Sabbath Day holy recently told us that "It is important to keep the commandments and all, but you have to keep a balance, you know?" I don't know. It seems to me that you keep the commandments or you don't, but perhaps that is why she is less active...she doesn't understand that. We shared the story of Naaman with her yesterday, and talked about how all commandments are important, and how we have to keep them 100%...if Naaman hadn't washed himself a full 7 times in the water, he would not have been cleansed. It was a good lesson, although I don't think she fully understood (she chooses to misunderstand). But, we were really happy that two of them could make it to church on Sunday. Yay!
Thanks for the letters and support. I love you all!
Love,j
Hermana Miller.
It is the first day of just another transfer in the life of Hermana Miller. But, it also happens to be the first day of the last transfer in the life of Hermana Miller. How strange it feels. I never thought this time would come, but here I am at the beginning of the end.
Yet again, my companion has been changed on me. Hermana Comoletti and I just had too much fun together, so they took her away and I am working with...Hermana Summers! Again! It was very surprising and exciting. We worked together two transfers ago for a couple weeks, and it was a good experience. So, it will be cool to have 6 more weeks with her. (By-the-way...I don't want you to read too much into "[We] just had too much fun together." There is no rule-breaking involved here.... It just always seems that the people I like are taken away so fast. Sad.).
It has been a really great transfer with her. I think I grew the most in this last transfer, and learned a lot and strengthed a lot. It was a really wonderful experience. She taught me a lot, and we got a lot of good work done. We have two investigators now!
Wanda: She couldn't come to church because we had a Regional/Stake Conference thing (the satellite stake conference ones), and she was sick, but she is still letting us come over and we are still working with her. She seems very sincere and real. She is honestly looking for an answer and we are just trying to help her recognize it.
Saima: She is a new-ish one who is pretty cool. We were just neighborhood walking the other week and ran into her and we taught a first lesson. She wasn't there for the return cita, but we went back another day and she was there. She let us in and we shared something. She is studying to be baptized in another church, but has read a little in the Book of Mormon and says she likes it because she can understand it and becaue it seems to teach the same sort of concepts/doctrine that the Bible teaches. She has two little kids who are really cute, one in 2nd grade and one in Kindergarten.
Two less actives came to the Stake conference, which was very exciting for us. Having Less actives come to church is just as exciting as having investigators in church, because you work just as hard with them, and it is good to see them where they belong, doing what they need to be doing.
I am excited to keep working here in Guaynabo and to work with Hermana Summers again too. I love you all. Thanks for your support!
Love,
Hermana Miller
0296: This is Sweetie, our dog. We were afraid she was going to die, so we took some pictures. She is still alive though, but I think she'll die soon enough. She is so cute (personality, not body...). She loves us.
0305: Hermana Comoletti and I have the same shoes! It was funny when we discovered that. Which ones do you think are mine?
0324: One of Hermana Comoletti's friends is serving in the NYC mission and sent her this shirt. So, we took a picture. She is standing on a chair next to me.
0339: This is one of our favorite look-out places. Do you see the ocean in the background? I know I send you one of these with every companion I have...but it is a cool spot!Dear Family,
There is not a lot of new and exciting things going on; we are just kind of for more people to teach and sharing the gospel with everyone! It is fun.
We are still working with Wanda, a really great investigator who has a son. She is really reading and praying and has a lot of hard questions. I think she really wants to know, but at the same time, she is not looking to feel the spirit, she is looking to understand logically. It is hard because she has a Pentecostal background and sees that as truth, because that is what she knows. The wonderful thing is that she knows how to pray, and we are really happy about that. She says she really is praying to see if this is what the Lord wants for her life. We really want her to come to church, but two things have come up these past two Sundays, so she hasn't been able to. I know that coming to church can really her answer, so we are really going to work on that this week, along with how the feel and recognize the spirit. I'm excited to work with her.
After all the less-active confessions these last couple weeks, we have now had a lot of them avoiding us, which is fairly frustrating, but we are still looking for them to try to work with them.
After all the less-active confessions these last couple weeks, we have now had a lot of them avoiding us, which is fairly frustrating, but we are still looking for them to try to work with them.
We are also studying the character of God and the conversion process, in preparation for a zone conference at the beginning of February. I am learning a ton; I just finished reading the Book of Mormon again, and so I am just studying Nephi's conversion story right now, and it is really very interesting. It is interesting to see how his conversion and the character of God are strongly related. I love the scriptures!
Thanks for your love and support.
Sincerely,
Hermana Miller
Thanks for your love and support.
Sincerely,
Hermana Miller
Dear family,
0277: These are the missionaries in our ward. We went over to the Kay's house to eat on Sunday and then we sang some hymns, and this is Elder Wouden's last picture. He is the one next to me. Guess what? He is from South Jordan, UT! He also has a 16 year old sister in Bingham, so maybe she and Tyler know each other. He is going home this Saturday. It is always really weird to see missionaries leave. He and I have been in the same ward since August, so now I am teh only remaining one of the original four...those of us who opened the ward again to missionary work. How strange. Also...my companion is not that tall. She is standing on the couch behind me. Yeah. She is that short.
0273: This is us with the Kays. They have two little girls. Sylvia is the big on and Vivian is the little one. They are a really nice family. (Ben Kay is from Buffalo Stake)
0269: This is another orchid that came out today. I know flower pictures aren't really that exciting, I just think the environment we live in is quite exotic and different.
Today is emergency p-day. Not because there is an emergency, just because they want to do interviews tomorrow, so we are p-daying it today. Surprise!
This week has been good. We made it to 2011! I can't believe it is already January. We tried to go and buy Chinese food on New Year's Eve, but everything was closed, so we ate Chinese food yesterday in commemoration of the new year. It was fun.
We were able to visit Wanda again this week a couple times and she is doing really well. She read in the Book of Mormon and has good questions. Her number one doubt is whether or not Joseph Smith could have seen God the Father. We told her to pray about it and also to pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true. She is really really sweet and her son is really awesome; we got to meet him this week. He is not your average kid. He really likes church things and is really calm and super sweet. We are really excited for her and how she is progressing. She was going to come to church, she said, but it was raining a lot on Sunday, so she didn't come. I really think she'll come to church next week.
On SUnday we went walking for a while to be able to talk to people and we decided to start heading home because it was starting to get dark. On the way there, we ran into the Elders who were with some members from another ward on an exchange. It was one of our Elders with another guy and another girl. The girl is really cool; she just got baptized last March and always goes out with the missionaries and is just very active. Apparently they were calling all the missionaries in the Metro area and nobody was answering and then when they called the Elders they were like, "Is this a joke?" because it was 3 young adults wanting to go on splits with the missionaries. It was cool that we ran into them though because then the girl came with us and we had two really cool visits with her.
First we went to Karina's house and they clicked really fast, because we told Karina that Victoria was a recent convert too and that was really a bonding point for her. Victoria testified of the blessing of the Holy Ghost and of the Sacrament and then Karina was asking about the best way to share the gospel with her family. It was a really cool experience, because it took us months for Karina to feel that comfortable with us, but with this new member, it was instantaneous.
Next we went to Karem's house. Karem is the daughter of the second Counselor in the Bishopric and doesn't really like us and never lets us in without an appointment, but is never there for appointments. We haven't even tried to contact her in a couple months (I don't think Hermana Beltran ever met her), but when we knocked on her door and she saw us, she let us right in. We hadn't planned anything, because we were planning on just saying hi, so we were really surprised when we just got right in, but we had a really good lesson about "The three Rs of Choice" by President Monson and Victoria shared a wonderful testimony again. I think she is a better missionary than we are.
Later on, the Elders called us and told us about their experiences and both of them had really good experiences too. I know that coincidences don't happen but that Heavenly Father arranges everything for us so that as tools in His hands we can bless His children in our areas. It was interesting to see that all three groups had great experiences. I love it when things like that happen that just help us to see the hand of God in His work.
I love you. I hope you have a great week.
Love,
Hermana Miller
0277: These are the missionaries in our ward. We went over to the Kay's house to eat on Sunday and then we sang some hymns, and this is Elder Wouden's last picture. He is the one next to me. Guess what? He is from South Jordan, UT! He also has a 16 year old sister in Bingham, so maybe she and Tyler know each other. He is going home this Saturday. It is always really weird to see missionaries leave. He and I have been in the same ward since August, so now I am teh only remaining one of the original four...those of us who opened the ward again to missionary work. How strange. Also...my companion is not that tall. She is standing on the couch behind me. Yeah. She is that short.
0273: This is us with the Kays. They have two little girls. Sylvia is the big on and Vivian is the little one. They are a really nice family. (Ben Kay is from Buffalo Stake)
0269: This is another orchid that came out today. I know flower pictures aren't really that exciting, I just think the environment we live in is quite exotic and different.
Dear family,
This has been a crazy week! I loved it. It is my second Puerto Rican Christmas, and I really enjoyed it this time through. First of all, more deets on what the Christmas Conference was, and then on to what the real Christmas activities entailed.
Christmas Conference was held last Tuesday and Wednesday. It was a two day spectacle of lights and color. Not really...that just sounded appropriate there. It was a two-day activity with lots of missionaries and lots of fun. Tuesday was the fun day and Wednesday was the spiritual day (not that it wasn't fun though...). Tuesday (as previously mentioned) we went to the Yunque, which is the rain forest! It was very exciting. We did two hikes. The second one was really intense, and some of the missionaries couldn't make it to the top, so President had the Elders carry them. It was all very dramatic because it was raining too (I mean, we were in the rain forest). We made it to the observation tower, which is the famous part of the Yunque. We climbed the tower and all we saw was cloud, because it was a cloudy day. We were in a cloud. Very exciting, but not a beautiful view. We had a title of liberty type activity up there. It was cool. But cold.
Later that day, we did the flash mob I had previously mentioned at the outlet. It was super fun. We had a dinner and talent show that night, and it was really good. There were some entertaining talents, some talents that were actually good, and a really wonderful moment when some members from a nearby ward came in a did a real Puerto Rican paranda: Puerto Rican Christmas caroling. It's like that picture I sent of the Puerto Ricans playing music and singing loud, but even cooler. I want to be Puerto Rican just so I can do that. Seriously. You should have seen our President. It was awesome. It was just loud and rowdy and completely awesome. We recorded some on video, but you just can't capture that. It comes out as noise, not as music. It was awesome though. So good.
The next day we had a little talk with the President and then we watched the Christmas devotional by the first presidency. It was good. I noticed how much I've grown this year. Last year, I couldn't understand completely what they were saying on the devotional, and now, 1. I know why I couldn't understand (Church translators have Spanish accents!), and 2. I could understand with absolutely no problem. It was very cool. Elder Vines also came and talked to us about knowing God through other's experiences (the scriptures), and through our experiences. It was cool because he said that we can know Him through the scriptures, but we can testify of Him when we experience His characteristics and attributes in our lives. It was a really cool talk. He knows the scriptures really well. Later, we practiced singing again so we could sing at an Art Museum in Santurce (downtown). We went and ate lunch at the mission home, where I had weird flashback experiences. We ate food there last Christmas too, and it was weird to change from being the youngest last year to being the oldest this year. Looking back on this year, I don't know where it went. It flew by so fast. It was a very pensive moment. Anyway, we went and sang at the art gallery and then went on a walk through the botanical gardens afterwards and went and had a testimony meeting and then watched a movie of the activity. It was a really nice activity. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
On Thursday night we ate dinner at a member house and it was the classic Christmas meal. Lechon, (some type of pork?), rice and gandules, and pasteles, which are those tamale-type things that are actually gross. Surprise! It was the 4th time I tried pasteles, and the first time I actually enjoyed them. It was a surprise for me too. So, it is true what they say: you have to try someting several times before you like it. We also had arroz con dulce, which is like a sweet rice pudding with cinnamon and raisens and ginger that is chilled in the fridge. Not my favorite. But then again, only have actually tried it once (I've always found an excuse to avoid it...).
Next exciting event was Christmas Eve. The enchilada tradition continued because the family we ate with had Mexican friends visiting, so we made enchiladas (they were actually pretty good; I ate them even though there was melted cheese on them...). It felt like home. Haha. Not really, but they were good. We also had Chinese take-out leftovers and other stuff (ranodm, but tasty). Half-way through dinner we experienced a little tremor (of the earth...like and earthquake, but not strong enough to be termed earthquake). It's my second! It was very exciting. We were just eating, and I was talking about Niagara Falls and then all-of-a-sudden, the hostess jumps up and yells: "It's a tremor! It's a tremor!" and the host jumps up and is like "Oh no!" and the rest of us are just kind of sitting there. Not gonna lie, I was a little worried when she jumped up. My heart did one of those little jump things and flashes of destruction came to mind...and then it stopped. It was cooler then the last one because I was awake for the whole thing. It happened in Aguas Buenas, which is actually fairly close to us. People have been saying it was a 5.4, which is a step up from the last one, which was only 5.1 or something. It was exciting, but I wouldn't mind if I never experienced it again. There is just something unsettling about a solid thing like the earth shaking. It is not supposed to move, in my experience. Luckily there wasn't a tsunami or something. Nothing feel off the shelves either. Then, we continued eating.
On Christmas Day we went around and caroled to members and shared a little scripture about Christmas with them. Then we went to a senior couple's house (missionary couple) to eat Christmas dinner. It was fun because we were a ton of missionaries together eating American Christmas dinner food. Delicious. After that we went to a hospital and caroled to the people there that we just happened to find in the halls or in rooms. It was a really great Christmas. I really enjoyed it.
Somebody really cool that we met on Christmas Eve and then went to teach on SUnday and had a return visit yesterday is Wanda. She is a single mom with a son, and she seems to really understand the message and seems excited to learn more. I'm excited to keep teaching her, especially since she is the only thing like an investigator that Hermana Comoletti has experienced. Yay! We mostly just visit menos activos. But, something really cool that has been happening with them is that we have been really working on listening and question asking...asking "questions from the heavens," and these last three days (Sunday, Monday and TUesday), we have had several "confessions" as to why people are inactive, which is wonderful, because we haven't been able to get to the root of things for so long. The Lord has really blessed us this week though with these "confessions" (for lack of a better term), so that we can focus in on the needs of each person instead of just blindly guessing. It has been a really cool experience. Well, it is kind of sad to hear why every one is less active, but it is definitely going to help us as we work with them.
Thanks so much for talking to me on Friday! And thank you for waiting patiently until I was ready. I really enjoyed talking to you. I hope you have a happy new year1
love,
Hermana Miller
***************************************
0075: First stop with Hermana Comoletti. It was a really pretty pool thing with a really picturesque bridge.
0098: Second stop with Sister Purdy. It was a really pretty waterfall thing with rocks to climb on and stuff.
0110: Third stop with Hermana Comoletti. This is the observation tower. We are probably one of the most ridiculous couples because she is 4'10' and I am nearly 6'. This was a funny one that captures that ridiculous.
0111: The observation tower on the outside.
0127: Me with two other sisters wearing our garbage bag ponchos.
0164: Hermana Comoletti and I on Christmas. I look so big next to her! 
0171: This is us with the Peitz, the senior couple that hosted. They are really cool. He reminds me a little bit of Grumpy because he always wears cowboy boots and a big belt buckle. He has a ranch in Northern California.
0236: A lizard that we found on a lemon last night. It was so cold it couldn't move, I think. A cold front has come in this week, and it is like in the 70s every day. Brrr. It finally moved after we touched it for a while. It was really strange. 
0215 and 0221: Some orchids that grow in our yard. They just kind of grow in the wild here. It is really cool/beautiful.
This has been a crazy week! I loved it. It is my second Puerto Rican Christmas, and I really enjoyed it this time through. First of all, more deets on what the Christmas Conference was, and then on to what the real Christmas activities entailed.
Christmas Conference was held last Tuesday and Wednesday. It was a two day spectacle of lights and color. Not really...that just sounded appropriate there. It was a two-day activity with lots of missionaries and lots of fun. Tuesday was the fun day and Wednesday was the spiritual day (not that it wasn't fun though...). Tuesday (as previously mentioned) we went to the Yunque, which is the rain forest! It was very exciting. We did two hikes. The second one was really intense, and some of the missionaries couldn't make it to the top, so President had the Elders carry them. It was all very dramatic because it was raining too (I mean, we were in the rain forest). We made it to the observation tower, which is the famous part of the Yunque. We climbed the tower and all we saw was cloud, because it was a cloudy day. We were in a cloud. Very exciting, but not a beautiful view. We had a title of liberty type activity up there. It was cool. But cold.
Later that day, we did the flash mob I had previously mentioned at the outlet. It was super fun. We had a dinner and talent show that night, and it was really good. There were some entertaining talents, some talents that were actually good, and a really wonderful moment when some members from a nearby ward came in a did a real Puerto Rican paranda: Puerto Rican Christmas caroling. It's like that picture I sent of the Puerto Ricans playing music and singing loud, but even cooler. I want to be Puerto Rican just so I can do that. Seriously. You should have seen our President. It was awesome. It was just loud and rowdy and completely awesome. We recorded some on video, but you just can't capture that. It comes out as noise, not as music. It was awesome though. So good.
The next day we had a little talk with the President and then we watched the Christmas devotional by the first presidency. It was good. I noticed how much I've grown this year. Last year, I couldn't understand completely what they were saying on the devotional, and now, 1. I know why I couldn't understand (Church translators have Spanish accents!), and 2. I could understand with absolutely no problem. It was very cool. Elder Vines also came and talked to us about knowing God through other's experiences (the scriptures), and through our experiences. It was cool because he said that we can know Him through the scriptures, but we can testify of Him when we experience His characteristics and attributes in our lives. It was a really cool talk. He knows the scriptures really well. Later, we practiced singing again so we could sing at an Art Museum in Santurce (downtown). We went and ate lunch at the mission home, where I had weird flashback experiences. We ate food there last Christmas too, and it was weird to change from being the youngest last year to being the oldest this year. Looking back on this year, I don't know where it went. It flew by so fast. It was a very pensive moment. Anyway, we went and sang at the art gallery and then went on a walk through the botanical gardens afterwards and went and had a testimony meeting and then watched a movie of the activity. It was a really nice activity. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
On Thursday night we ate dinner at a member house and it was the classic Christmas meal. Lechon, (some type of pork?), rice and gandules, and pasteles, which are those tamale-type things that are actually gross. Surprise! It was the 4th time I tried pasteles, and the first time I actually enjoyed them. It was a surprise for me too. So, it is true what they say: you have to try someting several times before you like it. We also had arroz con dulce, which is like a sweet rice pudding with cinnamon and raisens and ginger that is chilled in the fridge. Not my favorite. But then again, only have actually tried it once (I've always found an excuse to avoid it...).
Next exciting event was Christmas Eve. The enchilada tradition continued because the family we ate with had Mexican friends visiting, so we made enchiladas (they were actually pretty good; I ate them even though there was melted cheese on them...). It felt like home. Haha. Not really, but they were good. We also had Chinese take-out leftovers and other stuff (ranodm, but tasty). Half-way through dinner we experienced a little tremor (of the earth...like and earthquake, but not strong enough to be termed earthquake). It's my second! It was very exciting. We were just eating, and I was talking about Niagara Falls and then all-of-a-sudden, the hostess jumps up and yells: "It's a tremor! It's a tremor!" and the host jumps up and is like "Oh no!" and the rest of us are just kind of sitting there. Not gonna lie, I was a little worried when she jumped up. My heart did one of those little jump things and flashes of destruction came to mind...and then it stopped. It was cooler then the last one because I was awake for the whole thing. It happened in Aguas Buenas, which is actually fairly close to us. People have been saying it was a 5.4, which is a step up from the last one, which was only 5.1 or something. It was exciting, but I wouldn't mind if I never experienced it again. There is just something unsettling about a solid thing like the earth shaking. It is not supposed to move, in my experience. Luckily there wasn't a tsunami or something. Nothing feel off the shelves either. Then, we continued eating.
On Christmas Day we went around and caroled to members and shared a little scripture about Christmas with them. Then we went to a senior couple's house (missionary couple) to eat Christmas dinner. It was fun because we were a ton of missionaries together eating American Christmas dinner food. Delicious. After that we went to a hospital and caroled to the people there that we just happened to find in the halls or in rooms. It was a really great Christmas. I really enjoyed it.
Somebody really cool that we met on Christmas Eve and then went to teach on SUnday and had a return visit yesterday is Wanda. She is a single mom with a son, and she seems to really understand the message and seems excited to learn more. I'm excited to keep teaching her, especially since she is the only thing like an investigator that Hermana Comoletti has experienced. Yay! We mostly just visit menos activos. But, something really cool that has been happening with them is that we have been really working on listening and question asking...asking "questions from the heavens," and these last three days (Sunday, Monday and TUesday), we have had several "confessions" as to why people are inactive, which is wonderful, because we haven't been able to get to the root of things for so long. The Lord has really blessed us this week though with these "confessions" (for lack of a better term), so that we can focus in on the needs of each person instead of just blindly guessing. It has been a really cool experience. Well, it is kind of sad to hear why every one is less active, but it is definitely going to help us as we work with them.
Thanks so much for talking to me on Friday! And thank you for waiting patiently until I was ready. I really enjoyed talking to you. I hope you have a happy new year1
love,
Hermana Miller
***************************************
0075: First stop with Hermana Comoletti. It was a really pretty pool thing with a really picturesque bridge.
0098: Second stop with Sister Purdy. It was a really pretty waterfall thing with rocks to climb on and stuff.
0110: Third stop with Hermana Comoletti. This is the observation tower. We are probably one of the most ridiculous couples because she is 4'10' and I am nearly 6'. This was a funny one that captures that ridiculous.
0111: The observation tower on the outside.0127: Me with two other sisters wearing our garbage bag ponchos.
0164: Hermana Comoletti and I on Christmas. I look so big next to her!0169: All the sisters at the Christmas dinner. They're all so pretty!
0171: This is us with the Peitz, the senior couple that hosted. They are really cool. He reminds me a little bit of Grumpy because he always wears cowboy boots and a big belt buckle. He has a ranch in Northern California.
0236: A lizard that we found on a lemon last night. It was so cold it couldn't move, I think. A cold front has come in this week, and it is like in the 70s every day. Brrr. It finally moved after we touched it for a while. It was really strange. 
0215 and 0221: Some orchids that grow in our yard. They just kind of grow in the wild here. It is really cool/beautiful.
Today, we went to the rainforest. It is like every other forest, but we took pictures anyway. It rained on us, and we got wet. It is called the Yunque and it is the only rainforest on US territory. We are doing a Christmas conference thing today and tomorrow. I don't have a lot of time to write today, but call me on Thursday to confirm when we're going to talk and stuff. My number is the same that it was on Mother's Day.
Other Christmas conference fun was a flash mob we did in a food court where we sang Joy to the World and Angels we Have Heard on High. It was fun, because we were just sitting and eating like normal and then all of a sudden some people stood up and started singing, and then we all got up and started singing together. It was planned and stuff, but it was fun.
I'll talk to you soon and we'll arrange the stuff then.
Love,
Hermana Miller
Dear Family,
We had a new less active come to church on Sunday. That was really exciting. I was so happy to see her there. It is just as good to have a less active come to church as it is to have an investigator make it there.
5821: This is Karina and Gilberto with their family. The woman on the right is Gilberto's mother, the one that referred Karina. She is from the ward next door, Trujillo Alto.
5823: This is their family with us, ready to baptize/be baptized. :) Aren't those kids the cutest? The girl's name is Koraima and the boy's name is Diego. He is hilarious and she is calm.
0
0011: He loves to laugh and his laugh cracks me up. He kind of just pushes all the the air out at once and then forgets to breathe for a second. And he likes to clap as he does it. He is 2. So cute.
0046: This is the group of Hermanas that all came to Puerto Rico on the same day. We're the old ones now! From left to right: Hermana Melgar (Guatemala), Hermana Palmer (Arizona...but her family recently moved to Peru!), me, Hermana Barker (Utah), and Hermana Rodriguez (El Salvador). We're all pretty cool.
0050: Here are the Puerto Ricans playing and singing. I love this picture because there is action and color. This is Puerto Rico! They're so happy. :)
0053: This is Sister Comoletti and I at the Christmas party...trying not to dance.
Happy Christmas! It is Christmas time. Yesterday we had a really cool opportunity to go and sing at the mall. It was the entire San Juan Zone that went to the mall in Carolina (one of the pueblos to the East of San Juan) and sang a series of Christmas hymns and passed out cards, DVDs and pamphlets. It was cool. I really enjoyed the opportunity. It was also really cool to get together with other missionaries and spend some time together. It was a cool way to help others feel the spirit. I loved going to the mall and singing and sharing the gospel in that way
Last week we also had a Sister's meeting. We all went to the office on Wednesday night and had a little devotional thing. Then, we stayed at the office overnight and were in the office all day on Thursday for talks and activities. During lunch we watched Errand of Angels, a non-church made movie about sister missionaries. It wasn't like, the best movie ever made, but the colors were really pretty and I liked the lighting. And also the message. It was an nice break. It was good to see that the mission is hard for every one and we all have challenges and disappointments at times but it is good and fun to work hard. I could see similarities between our two mission, and I appreciated that. We also watched the video that was played in the Young Woman conference in March. It was so good. It was like Mormon messages. I had read the quotes in the Ensign and really liked them, but it is amazing how powerful images and music can make the words. I really loved it, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to feel the spirit (or in other words...go and watch it now! Of course you want to feel the spirit!). It wasn't just put on by leaders...lots of the hermanas participated by giving a talk or sharing a musical number. I talked about unity and the importantance of being unified and how it is a godly attribute. It was really cool. I loved it and think we should do it more often. I came out of the conference with a greater resolve to work harder and be more obedient. It was a nice way to relax and learn at the same time. It was also nice to see my only remaining ex-companioin, Sister Summers. I miss being with her. She was a really great companion for me.
After the Sister's conference, on Friday we had the ward Christmas party, which had food and people and fun. After eating the food, they started the Paranda, which is basically Christmas caroling (but we didn't go from door-to-door; we just sang right there in the church). They sang traditional Puerto-Rican Christmas songs and played instruments, including bongos and shaky things and guitar and other stuff. It was awesome and little bit difficult not to dance. We just sat down and shook our feet instead. I loved it.
After the Sister's conference, on Friday we had the ward Christmas party, which had food and people and fun. After eating the food, they started the Paranda, which is basically Christmas caroling (but we didn't go from door-to-door; we just sang right there in the church). They sang traditional Puerto-Rican Christmas songs and played instruments, including bongos and shaky things and guitar and other stuff. It was awesome and little bit difficult not to dance. We just sat down and shook our feet instead. I loved it.
Sister Comoletti is doing really well. I think she might be training me. She has a real gift for thinking of what people's needs are and can really come up with great ideas for lessons. She has an amazing energy for and love of the work. Like I said last week, she has a real fire for missionary work and I am really impressed at how good she is at it. She has a lot of faith; in Jesus Christ and His gospel, and also in others. It is amazing. She is still struggling a little bit with the language (mostly understanding), but I feel like she can speak fairly well for someone who arrived so recently. She is a great companion. She has a strong testimony and bears it often.
We had a new less active come to church on Sunday. That was really exciting. I was so happy to see her there. It is just as good to have a less active come to church as it is to have an investigator make it there.
I don't think I'll be writing again before Christmas (there are some rumours flying around, but nothing officially confirmed yet. We'll see), so I hope you have a great week, and we'll talk to you soon.
Love,
Hermana Miller
5821: This is Karina and Gilberto with their family. The woman on the right is Gilberto's mother, the one that referred Karina. She is from the ward next door, Trujillo Alto.
5823: This is their family with us, ready to baptize/be baptized. :) Aren't those kids the cutest? The girl's name is Koraima and the boy's name is Diego. He is hilarious and she is calm.
0
007: These are just some pictures we took of Diego being cute. He loves playing with the phone. He only likes to touch things he is not allowed to touch. Therefore, our phone is his favorite toy.
0011: He loves to laugh and his laugh cracks me up. He kind of just pushes all the the air out at once and then forgets to breathe for a second. And he likes to clap as he does it. He is 2. So cute.
0046: This is the group of Hermanas that all came to Puerto Rico on the same day. We're the old ones now! From left to right: Hermana Melgar (Guatemala), Hermana Palmer (Arizona...but her family recently moved to Peru!), me, Hermana Barker (Utah), and Hermana Rodriguez (El Salvador). We're all pretty cool.
0050: Here are the Puerto Ricans playing and singing. I love this picture because there is action and color. This is Puerto Rico! They're so happy. :)
0053: This is Sister Comoletti and I at the Christmas party...trying not to dance.Dear family,
I got your packages in the mail this week! Thank you for thinking of me. Our landlady lent us this little 4 foot fiber optic Christmas tree thing, and I put the gifts on/under that. Our apartment looks so nice and Christmas-y with the tree and the lights and the gifts etc. It is a wonderful place to live. :)
Karina was baptized on Saturday. Woohoo! It is something we have been working on since July. I know that was one of the miracles we could see with Hermana Beltran. Part of the miracle was that her husband, Gilberto, former menos activo was able to baptize her and he did it perfectly! When they were coming out of the font, he spoke to Benjamin, the Elders Quorum President who invited him to do it and coached him on how to do it. He said that he was so happy (he was crying), and thank you because he had never imagined that he would be able to do that. That is, baptize his wife. It was a really cool experience. I will send pictures next week when I have my cable with me.
Well, transfers were today and new missionaries came in yesterday. We picked up a new missionary for me and I sent Hermana Beltran to Bayamon (almost next door), to work with someone else. My new companion is Hermana Comoletti. She is from Springville, Utah. She is really happy and bubbly and reminds me of my roommate from last summer, in Indiana. It is fun. She has the fire! It is so weird to compare her with me. She is very excited and trusts people and has faith in every body and I am tired and not as bubbly. I know I am going to learn a lot with her. She has a strong testimony and a love of the Lord and the desire to be here. It is cool to think of all the good that she is going to accomplish in her mission. Sister Reid is going home today, which is really weird. I am now the next sister to go home; I am the oldest sister in the mission, along with Sister Palmer. It is a really, really crazy feeling, because I still feel like I'm trying to figure out how to do things the best way. I'm still trying to figure out how to be the best missionary possible. I guess there is always room for improvement.
Everything has been going fine and we are enjoying the break from the heat. I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Miller
Dear family,
Thank you for the letters you sent me this week (mom). I can't believe it is December already! In November, it was okay that it didn't feel like winter, but now it is really difficult to believe it is December because it still is sunny and stuff. It is cooler, sure, but even I can't deny that it is warm outside.
Investigator news:
Karina's baptism is just around the corner, and we are really excited. Every time we go over to visit her we realize how prepared she really is. I hope everything goes well and she'll be ready to be baptized soon. They've been to church 4 or 5 times now and yesterday in the interview, Gilberto and Jose (a RC the Elders taught) really hit it off and are pretty good friends now. They bonded over computer things and video games. It was a good moment. And they got a dog...which is so cute. They called her Canela, which is Spanish for Cinnamon. I love her! Another less active member got a dog too and I love him too. I think when I get home I am going to get a dog. Because I love them. Maybe it is just because I'm not allowed to hold babies, but I love holding dogs; they are so cute!
We were blessed yesterday with a new investigator (sort of...). He is the "practically son" of a less active we met yesterday and we left him a Book of Mormon. We are going to try to continue working with him and try to check up on his reading and such. He isn't an official new investigator, because we couldn't set a return cita, but he's all we've got right now, and we're holding on to that. There is another family that we contacted a while ago and we finally figured out where they live, so we are going to try to work with them. We haven't been able to teach them yet, but we will hopefully get in this week sometime.
Companion news:
We were blessed yesterday with a new investigator (sort of...). He is the "practically son" of a less active we met yesterday and we left him a Book of Mormon. We are going to try to continue working with him and try to check up on his reading and such. He isn't an official new investigator, because we couldn't set a return cita, but he's all we've got right now, and we're holding on to that. There is another family that we contacted a while ago and we finally figured out where they live, so we are going to try to work with them. We haven't been able to teach them yet, but we will hopefully get in this week sometime.
Companion news:
Sister Beltran is growing leaps and bounds. I am so impressed with her. She is overcoming her timidity and learning so much about the gospel and even learning some English, and how to conduct music. She is just learning so much because she is so humble and teachable and willing to learn. I am really happy for the progress she has been making here.
Missionary life news:
I completed one year in Puerto Rico this week. Maybe you recall, that my first day here last year was Thanksgiving. I was surprised to find that alongside their turkey Puerto Ricans eat rice with gandules (which is a kind of pea/bean thing). I am happy to announce that I was again privileged to eat Turkey and rice with gandules on Thanksgiving day this year.
On Thanksgiving we went to have dinner with the primary president and the Kay family came (an hour late, but they did arrive, so we were happy). It was a good time and the turkey was delicious...I thought.
Next, we went to a returning less-active's house and she gave us more turkey with rice and gandules. This turkey was even better. She also made a pasta salad thing and it was a good time.
The next day, we went to visit another returning less active who just happened to be taking a turkey out of the oven. She gave us a piece of turkey for helping her carry it from one place in her house to another (it was a huge turkey and she is about 4'10"), and it was the most delicious of them all. It was amazingly moist and juicy. I don't know how she did it. Thinking of the other turkeys, a line from one of our favorite movies came to mind: "This bird is dry! Haven't you people heard of basting?," and chuckled to myself.
It was a good Thanksgiving and a delicious one too.
I hope everything at home is going great. Thank you for sending me the pictures and the news about the family. I'm happy for all of you!
Love,
Hermana Miller.
/Auntie J. :)
Haha. I wonder how often that girl will hear that in her life. But for reals? Congratulations to my family! I can't believe I am an aunt! I made a special photo for the occasion and will send the banner to baby
Grace in the mail shortly. Sorry for the lameness of the welcome gift, but my resources are limited. (5746)
In the picture, you may notice my hair is down and that I am wearing a cardigan. That is because it is getting cold here! It is like, 80 or 83 every day, and that is really chilly. It has been cold for the past several weeks. I am going to buy a quilt or comforter today or something because at night it gets down to like, 75...and I just can't handle that. I'm not really sure how I'm going to handle the Utah weather in March...especially beginning of March; In like a Lion. I'm scared for that.
Hermana Mill
er
Grace in the mail shortly. Sorry for the lameness of the welcome gift, but my resources are limited. (5746) In the picture, you may notice my hair is down and that I am wearing a cardigan. That is because it is getting cold here! It is like, 80 or 83 every day, and that is really chilly. It has been cold for the past several weeks. I am going to buy a quilt or comforter today or something because at night it gets down to like, 75...and I just can't handle that. I'm not really sure how I'm going to handle the Utah weather in March...especially beginning of March; In like a Lion. I'm scared for that.
This week was cool. On Thursday night we had an activity where the Relief Society thought it would be cool if I taught people how to conduct music. It was harder than I thought to explain. I kind of just wanted to say..."just feel the music...and when you feel a downbeat, bring your arm down." But it wasn't that easy. I don't think it was that successful, but we did learn things and practice a lot, so that was cool.
Every body (well, lots of people) went to the temple this week. They'll be gone for this entire week and should be back on Saturday. There is a stake temple trip and there are about 80 people going from the stake. That is so cool! We saw the people from Puerto Rico who were there last year, while I was in the CCM, and now I realize that they were probably people that I know now. How strange. It is interesting to me that our paths already crossed once without me knowing, and now here we are again and we know each other. Anyway. I am excited to go to the temple when I get home.
Yesterday we went to Centro Medico again and did contacts. We did a ton in the train station before we left, and then we did some in the train and then walked around Centro Medico for a while. We found a member of the church there, and she informed us that it was the area of Hato Ray, the ward that is just to the North of us, which is a shame because there are tons of people there, just sitting...perfect for contacting. But, we won't go back because generally speaking, I like to be obedient (haha...not generally speaking. I do like to be obedient...always?). Anyway. On that little trip we taught 4 lessons. We are really struggling getting in a lot of lessons during the week, so we are just teaching more in the contacts that we do, and counting them as lessons. For example, we share some more of the doctrine and then we ask a few questions that get the person to think about and feel the doctrine, and then we maybe share a scripture, and we try to end with a prayer. But right there in the street? You say. Yes. Right in the street. We gave out a Book of Mormon yesterday and committed someone to pray about the Book of Mormon. They were some cool experiences. And...when they are waiting (for a bus, for their ride to come, for their family member to be released, etc...), it is a great opportunity because they can't say they're in a hurry.
The Elders met a really cool lady a couple weeks ago who was baptized in the DR but who is now inactive, but she has come to church twice and she came to the RS activity (the other women present were the presidency members...). We went to visit her yesterday, and she is so cool! She loves us, first of all...and we didn't have to do anything! And, we talked about the baptism of Jesus Christ, and we talked about the purpose of baptism etc, and then we asked her if Jesus Christ had any sins, and she thought, and she's like, "well, as I understand it...no? I mean, he's supposed to have been perfect, right?...so why did he get baptized?" she asked us.) She loved the lesson, and you could tell she really learned from it. That is not always the case. She is really awesome though, and has a 7 year old daughter who participated in the primary program on Sunday.
Karina was going to be baptized on Tuesday but couldn't be because her husband's mother couldn't make it, and since everyone is at the temple anyway, no one else would be there but us missionaries and the Kay family...so we decided to put it off until next Saturday, 4 Dec. We had a really cool lesson with her on Sunday where we talked about the baptism of Jesus Christ and she asked us some questions about the Holy Ghost and miracles/spiritual gifts. She testified to us of the power of prayer, which was really special. She said she had never shared that testimony with anyone before, but you could just see the fire in her eyes. I was really impressed by th
e spirit that she i
nvited by sharing her testimony.
e spirit that she invited by sharing her testimony.Well, I love you and look forward to seeing more pictures. Attached are some pictures of me with my daughter...um...the girl I am training.
Love,
Hermana MillerDear family,
I love you so much. Thank your for writing me. I can't wait until next week to see what happens with the baby. Yay! I can hardly contain myself.
This week was fun. We did lots of fun missionary activities. One day we ended up at a large hospital complex called Centro Medico. It has like, 11 hospital right there next to each other. We were planning on doing contacts there, and we thought vaguely that it would be cool to come back sometime and visit the patients there and sing them a song or something. We happened to contact a member from another ward, and mentioned that we were thinking about doing it "sometime," and he said that he has seen other missionaries do it before. So, he said, "follow me," and he introduced us to the guard and got us into the Trauma unit. Unfortunately, we didn't see any blood or anything, but we did visit 3 people. It was kind of weird, but we are going to work on perfecting our approach and maybe do it again sometime. I know that we were led there though, because we had planned on doing contacts that day but without a specific location in mind, we got on the train and we decided to get off at Centro Medico. We walked a random direction (because we don't really know that area very well), and ended up at the hospital (and met a guy on the way and left a Book of Mormon with him! :) ). We happened to find a member whose wife works in Trauma and who knows all the guard people and who got us in, because we just happened to show up right at 6:30, which is when visiting hours start. It is a wonderful feeling when you feel you are being led by the Lord.
On Sunday, we were talking to people again and I went to talk to one man while my companion went somewhere else. It was a long contact with a guy that looked really cool and normal on the outside, but who was really against us on the inside. He insisted on several things that we didn't agree with, including the fact that he had to contend because the bible says to contend for your faith (and it does, but there are a billion others that say that contention is of the prideful and devil, blah blah blah). Anyway. It was kind of an ugly experience. I've had that experience before. Many times before, but why do I share it with you this time? Because there was a different result this time. Not with him (you can't say anything that will touch those kinds of people), but with me. I've always walked away from experiences like that feeling a little disheartened because, well? Somebody is attacking you and your beliefs, and they refuse to stop attacking, because the Bible says they have to. Ok. This time, I'm sure he didn't feel the spirit because he was yelling and stuff, but I could feel the spirit because I stayed calm and asked him questions, and even though he barely allowed me to talk, when I did talk, I just testified. I know that I benefited from the conversation. I know that my testimony grew in that moment. I know that we are children of a Heavenly Father and that we lived with Him before we came here, and we are here to prepare to live with Him again. I know that the Book of Mormon is true because I've read it, and I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. It's that simple. So. It is true that we grow through trials. Although it was an ugly experience, I can look back on that experience and see that it was a actually a really wonderful one.
As far as investigators go, I don't know what we're doing wrong, but we haven't had a new one for weeks now. I guess it could be because every body we find seems to be in a different area, but it is frustrating. We are continuing to look though, as we prepare for the baptism of Karina. She couldn't come to church on Sunday because Diego, her two year old had a fever on Saturday night. They were in the hospital until 4am and so didn't want to come to church on Sunday. We hope they'll make it next week. We're excited for her baptism!
Thank you for your love and support. I love you so much and can't wait to see the pictures...lots of pictures. :)
Love,
Hermana Miller
Dear Family,
This was a crazy week! We ran around a lot and did lots of fun things. On Friday we had a missionary activity which was a movie night/dessert competition. The idea Hermana Summers had was a movie night, because she had done it in another area and it was a big success. The idea I had was to mix with the movie night a dessert competition because then people would want to come. So, we did them both, although I think the dessert competition kind of overshadowed the movie night part. But it was still good. We started The Testaments at 6:35 (the activity started at 6:30) and just let people come in during the movie. By the time the movie ended (almost) every one had arrived. Later, we sang a song and said a prayer and shared a little thought and then invited people to come up and explain their dessert. Next, people came up and ate what they wanted. We (the missionaries) judged the desserts and gave each a title. For example, "most creative," or "most exotic," or "Choco-liscious" (but in Spanish), and awarded them. It was a fun activity.
On Sunday, we ran around like crazy trying to find people to teach. Due to a set of circumstances during the week, we were short a lot of lessons (we try to have 20 a week). So, we ran around and successfully taught 8 lessons in one day. It was kind of exhausting, but it was a good experience, because we could feel the hand of the Lord. We had a set of plans, but ended up changing them a couple times. We ended up going to this one lady's house who is on the brink of inactivity, and it turned out that she had been in a car accident the day before and was really bumped and bruised. So, we were able to help her by sharing something really fast and then informing the Relief Society President. I felt like we were led there.
Yesterday we had a zone conference. Zone conferences used to be every transfer. Now, they are every 3 months. BUT, they also last for 8 hours. I don't know why this change was neccesary, but I know I've mentioned before that we are kind of a prototype mission right now, so the new schedule is based on what the church wants us to try out. It was kind of tiring to be in a meeting all day, but it was a nice meeting. We talked about the prophet Joseph Smith and the importance he has in our lives. We watched the Joseph Smith movie that is shown in downtown SLC and it was really good. I haven't seen that since I was in the CCM, so it was cool to see again. It is a really powerful video. I can't wait to see it again someday. We also met with the new ward mission leader last night and he is really excited to help us in the work here in Guaynabo. I've never had a real ward mission leader before, so I'm kind of excited to see how the work may change with that blessing.
Thanks for your prayers and your other forms of support. I love you. :)
Love,
Hermana Miller
