Te Lo Voy a Repetir; Q-U-E-N-C-H Dec 8, 2014

Querido Familia y Amigos,

Regrese! I'm back in Spanish! I'm sad to leave English, which is funny, because earlier in my mission, when we didn't like someone, we were like, "I hope they go English on bike!" and I went English on bike, and I loved it. (:

I'm back in Lynnwood in the Chennault Beach Branch. I'm so glad, because if I could have chosen any branch in the mission to be for Chistmas, it would have been this one. And guess what? After this transfer, I will have been in this branch half my mission. Isn't that crazy? I think I might die in this area, as Hermana Andersen was here for like six transfers, and Hermana Brunsdale (oh, yeah, she's my new companion, by the way) is on her sixth transfer here, and I only have three more transfers after this, so collectively, if I were to die here, I will have been here six transfers, as well.

But I've also moved around pretty much every transfer, so we'll see what happens.

My first thirty minutes in Spanish, the most amazing thing happened. We were tracting, and I was like, "Uhh, tracting. And in Spanish. It's been so long since I've done this..." and it was uncomfortable, but the first trailer we knocked on, they were like, "Yeah, our neighbors are Spanish."

So we went to the next trailer, and we knocked, and lo and behold, they were Spanish. Not only that, they were interested. "What?! Why would this family be interested when you first knock on the door before you say anything?" you might be asking. Two words.

MEMBER MISSIONARIES. :D

Maria, the lady who answered the door, was like, "Ahh, misioneras!! I want to learn more, but I'm busy. I'm cooking. Can you come back tomorrow?"

And Hermana Brunsdale, this solid missionary, was like, "Oh, what are you cooking?"

And Maria said, "Frijoles. Do you guys want to join us for dinner?"

Coming from English, I was totally about to say no, because we don't intrude on people's dinners, but Hermana Brunsdale was like, "Si, si estaria bien con ustedses!"

So we went in, we had frijoles and chincharones, and we taught lesson one. And Maria told us this story about her brother who was a "diablito" (little devil) before the missionaries knocked on his door and taught him about the church. She told us about how after Javier joined the church, he completely changed for the better and told his family all about the church and gave them Book of Mormons, and she and the rest of her family wanted that change, too, so her sister, Lorena, and her family in Marysville were already taking the lessons, and Maria was just waiting for the day when we would knock on her door, too.

What?! I know, it's hard to believe, but the our Father in Heaven is a God of miracles. He watches out for each one of His children, and He wants all of them to have the opportunity to learn the gospel when they're ready. I am so grateful for His watching out for us as missionaries, to lead us to prepared people like Maria, and His watching out for the rest of His children, too. (:

After that lesson with Maria, we went to go see Hector, who is actually a member referral I received when I was English, and I passed it to the Spanish sisters. Hector is also totally prepared. I think he's fresh from Mexico. Those ones are my favorites, because they're not Americanized yet, and they are so humble and so willing to accept God in their lives.

Hector is 14 years old, his dad is from Oaxaca, and his mom is from Jalisco. I haven't met his dad yet, but I'm looking forward to meeting him, because Hector told me that his dad speaks Misteco, which is an awesome dialect that people speak in Oaxaca. Hector's mom, Lidia, and pretty nice, and also pretty prepared. Hector and Lidia both accepted softt baptism invites. (:

We have a Christmas tree! Hahahaha... We were super bummed that we didn't have one, so we snapped a branch off of a huge pine tree by Hector's house, took it home, and draped it over our fan. I'd show you pictures, but I forgot my camera today.

And don't worry that we stole from that tree, that complex is managed by a member, and she'll just laugh when we tell her.

... I think that's it.

Love you all!

Hermana Miller

Moko Siko December 1, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

I apologize that there hasn't been an email the last few weeks. Two weeks ago, Sister Mahoni was super sick, and so we didn't email very long. I don't know why this suddenly went to italics, but I don't know how to change it back, so sorry. Then last Monday, we only had an hour to email because Thanksgiving was our P-Day, and the library was closed for Thanksgiving. It just switched back to not italics, which is awesome, but I don't know. Sorry, haha.

So, yeah. Two weeks ago, Sister Mahoni was super sick. We only went out to go to the doctor (in Seattle! That's in the Seattle mission! We left the mission [with permission]!). Dr. Call (the mission doctor) said that she had the flu and a sinus infection. ): And yet, we still haven't received our flu shots...

Then we stayed in all week, other then the 22. We were setting up the church like crazy for the Luau. Which was a success. I looked awesome, the dances were awesome, I remembered almost all of the dance we did (We danced a Tahitian dance called Te Hiva. It was SUPER hard. I didn't know my hips could move like that). After the Luau, we went home and were planning for the next day, and Sister Mahoni started coughing her lungs out and using her inhaler. I was freaking out, I had no idea how to help. So she called Dr. Tate (the in-mission mission doctor), and he said she was having an asthma attack and we needed to go to the hospital. The phone had been passed to me, because I could breathe and therefore talk, and I was like, "Okay. How do we get there? I'm totally willing to go to the hospital at 9:30 at night to save my companion, but we're on bike." Dr. Tate was like, "Call the zones leaders and have them give you a ride!"

First of all, these English zone leaders, Elders Jones and Kendall, are the best people I have ever met. I have mad respect for them. When Sister Mahoni was sick, they always asked us if there was anything we needed, they stopped by every day to check on her (from the doorway of our apartment; they can't come in) and bring her powerade. I guess last transfer when Sister Mahoni was hit by a car on her bike, they bought her a new bike and brought her balloons and a get well card. They brought me a coloring book because they knew that I was suffering from a bad case of cabin fever, they offered to buy me Mexican hot chocolate, these guys are the best. I will never have leaders that I respect so much again. I know these elders would do anything for the missionaries in this zone; they even told us once that the missionaries in this zone, on their list of priorities, come before their investigators.

So Dr. Tate was like, "Call you zone leaders!" Any other transfer with other zone leaders, I would not even consider calling them, not just because sisters can't ride with elders, but because I would have felt like we'd be too much of a bother to them, even though their responsibility is to help us. I was like, "Wait, are we allowed to ride with them in an emergency like this?!" and Dr. Tate was like, "Yeah, just hurry and call them! If they're not there in 10 minutes, call 911!"

So I called these amazing zone leaders. I didn't even have to explain anything. I was like, "Sister Mahoni needs to go to the hospital," and they were like, "We'll be there in about 8 minutes." and hung up.

They drove us out of mission to the nearest hospital without even batting an eye. We got a call from President on the way, saying the Dr. Tate had texted him to let him know what was going on, and even in situations like this, elders and sisters are never to ride together, and sisters are to call their sister training leaders for situations like this, and these awesome zone leaders were like, "We understand, President, we apologize for not checking in first and following procedure. But also, their sister training leaders live all the way in Everett. It would have taken them half an hour to get to them." These zone leaders are so awesome.

So, yeah. We went to the hospital, she breathed into a medical plastic thingy with medicine in it for like 20 minutes. Everything was fine. We learned that her lungs were inflamed because of this being her first winter (it wasn't even winter yet, though) and her being sick for so long.

As we were leaving, the security guard, who I'd been chatting with about the Book of Mormon, told us he hoped he never saw us again, haha. He said it in a friendly demeanor, though. Sister Mahoni was offended at first, then she realized we were leaving the emergency room, and we didn't want to ever go back, either.

We didn't make it out Monday or Tuesday, even though Sistesr Mahoni felt better, because Dr. Tate said perfume or cigarette smoke, or anything like that, could trigger another asthma attack.

For Thanksgiving, we went over to the Taulbee's home. They are members of the ward. They both served in Brazil, and Sister Taulbee is actually from Brazil. So we spoke in Spanish a lot, though sometimes, they would break into Portuguese, and I was like, "I have no idea what you are saying."

Sister Taulbee is an awesome cook. The food was so good. Then we played Imaginiff for a while. That was fun, but hard. We were playing with Brother Taulbee, two members that we'd never met before, a man from Brazil, and four foreign exchange students, one from Japan, and the other three from... Ethiopia? Indonesia? I don't remember.

Then we went to Emily's home from Thanksgiving dinner. I don't know if you remember her, she was our investigator that lived underneath us, then we moved to another apartment, then she moved to the Alderwood 2nd ward boundaries. She invited us and her new missionaries over to dinner. It was Hawaiian style Thanksgiving; The turkey was more like pulled pork with soy sauce, and there was lots of rice, and there was crab instead of stuffing. The food was really good.

When Emily dropped us off, though, she told us that she was going to drop the sisters. ): We just bore our testimonies and tried to help her remember how she felt in lessons before, but no use. ):

And Shyla is not being baptized next weekend. ): Her mom couldn't get time off work (because she works at Bath and Body Works in the mall, and they're super busy this time of year), so we have to put it off until Sister Drake can get time off work.

Worst part of that? I just found out that I'm being transferred. I don't know where I'm going, or even if I'll be English or Spanish. But, if Shyla's baptized in this next transfer, I can come back for it.

I love being a missionary. I do. I love meeting so many people, I love seeing their progression as they work on their path to Christ. I love learning to love even the people I wouldn't have even thought about before my mission. I love becoming part of a new ward. I love helping members realize their role in missionary work. I love being a missionary. But I don't love transfers. I don't love leaving all these people I've gotten so close to. I haven't even been in this area very long. But I also know that the Lord has a plan. Somehow, I've helped these people hopefully even half as much as they've helped me, and now I have the opportunity to go serve in another area and get to know knew people, and learn to love them, too.

I love you all. I hope you have a great week before the next time I write again, from a new area.

Love,

Hermana Miller

Bug Bites and Baptism Dates November 10, 2014

Querida Familia y Amigos,

Not a lot happened this week. We're still being blessed like crazy.  We have six people on date; Emily December 1st, Shyla December 6th, Vida and Brizette January 3rd, Sharon January 10th, and Katie February 16th.

The only one that is this transfer is Emily, but she's moving on Tuesday right outside of our area. We will still be able to attend her baptism, as we would be considered her main missionaries and she'd just be in the Alderwood 2nd ward, which is in the stake. But her baptism is for some reason scheduled on a Monday (we were on exchanges when she was put on date), so that will probably moved back to the Saturday, which is right after transfers.

Shyla was moved back a week because there is a wedding the 29th of November that will apparently last all day, as the building scheduler said that there would be no time for a baptism because of it. She will be baptized the weekend after transfers, and I'd be able to return if transferred.

But the others, I don't know if I'll be able to attend. Vida and Brizette (mother and daughter from Ghana) might be at the end of next transfer, so I might be able to if transferred.

Sharon and Katie, though, we're sure that they'll move their dates for sooner, so we'll see.

So Sharon, though, that's a cool story. We were getting ready for church yesterday, and the phone rang. We were like, "Who calls the missionaries on a Sunday morning?" but we answered, and this is roughly how the conversation went:

"Hello, this is Sister Mahoni and Sister Miller."

"Hi, this is Sharon."

"... Hi Sharon. How can we help you today?"

"Do you remember me? I was taking out my trash a couple weeks ago, and you gave me a mormon.org card."

"Uhhh..."

"That's okay. What times are your services? I attended (another church that I'm sure is doing their best to come unto Christ in their own ways) last week, and I didn't feel welcomed."

So Sharon came to church with us. She loved it, and wants to bring her kids next week. After church, we showed her the baptismal font, explained baptism, and invited her to be baptized. (:

Also, early this week, we started getting itchy. Our legs and arms are just super itchy. We kind of ignored it for a few days, until it started getting worse, and we starting getting bumps, like mosquito bites or something, but it's too cold for mosquitoes. We were trying to subtly scratch at a family home evening the other day, and telling them this story about how we're itchy, and it must be some kind of bug bite, but not mosquitoes, and they were like, "Ohhh, stop scratching. Those look like spider bites, and the more you scratch, the more the venom spreads."

So that's awesome. They told us that we probably had a spider living in our sheets or blankets or something, and that would explain how we wake up with more bites and don't notice it happening. After emailing and shopping, we are spending our p-day washing all of our bed clothes.

Lot you all lots and lots!

Hermana Miller

"Ay, cochina tramposa, callete." "Tu callete, mas o menos!" November 3, 2014

This week was so long. I am so tired.

So, remember Emily, our awesome investigator? Well, her husband got mad, so we had to stop teaching her for a while, but we went over and apologized, and talked to him about how families are forever and how one day, he could be sealed to his family, and he was asking awesome questions like, "Could someone be sealed without being baptized?" So, we're hoping to be able to teach him soon, too. (: Emily agreed to be baptized December 1st, but is praying about whether she should move it up.

Then Katie, our other awesome investigator, we really want to meet with her husband now, so that he doesn't get angry, too, but Katie says that he would be very disrespectful and smoke pot in front of us (you know, 'cause pot is legal in Washington). But she's still doing great. We come over, and she's like, "So, I know that we don't actually have this set up yet, but I just wanted you to know that you can't come over this day in three weeks because of this, but we could do this day instead."

She's also agreed to be baptized in February. We were like, "Katie, we've prayed about it, and we feel like you will be ready to be baptized on December 16th." And she was like, "... Can we do February 16th?" She's funny. But she's willing, and she asks really good questions.

Shyla is doing great. I don't remember if I mentioned her. She's 9 years old, and her mom, a less active, called us a while ago and said she wanted Shyla to be baptized. Shyla is so funny. She asks really funny but deep questions (often even irrelevant). She was on date for November 15th, but she has not come to church yet, due to her mom's work schedule. ): But we talked to her mom last night about Sister Miller, an awesome return missionary in the ward, and how she's professionally helped children in the past, so we're hoping she'll let Sister Miller take Shyla to church. Shyla is hopefully going to be baptized on November 29th. (:

We are being so blessed. I love it.

And we meet a lot of hispanics on the street, so I get to talk to them in Spanish. (: One time, we met Roberto, and it was on the way back from a dinner, so we had thin mints or algo from the members, and Sister Mahoni was like, "DO YOU WANT CHOCOLATE? Hermana, ask him if he wants some chocolate. CHOCOLATE? How do you say chocolate?" "Chocolate (pronounced in Spanish)." "Oh. WANT CHOCOLATE?" Roberto was trying so hard not to laugh, for which I was grateful, because in cases like that, they either laugh, or get offended. Then we were leaving, and she was like, "Buenas (bad word)!" Thankfully he understood it as 'noches' (I think), because it is not appropriate for missionaries (or anyone, really) to say things like that, haha.

We also moved apartments this week. That was a lot of work. We went from one building on the top floor to another on the bottom floor. It's nice, because now we won't have to carry our bikes up four flights on stairs every night, but it was a lot of work. Five elders even came to help (one of the companionships is three-packing), and it took ALL DAY to move all the stuff out and to deep clean the old apartment. Our new apartment is super nice, and we were able to organize it like we wanted to. (:

But moving out in the rain made Sister Mahoni sick. ): After church, we got permission from the district leader, and we went home and she knocked out for three hours. I used that time to finish unpacking and make some phone calls to set dinners and get some members to go give a blessing to a pmf's daughter we're working with.

Pues, creo que este es todo.

Con amor,

Hermana Miller

Callete your eyes! Oct 27, 2014

Querido Familia y Amigos,

Before I forget, this from President Bonham:

Now is the time to send your “Christmas list” home. Parents are not quite sure what you want or can have and so end up sending things that aren't useful. Please remind them that you can’t use: non-mission library books; toys, games, or Magic cards (or similar things); non-missionary music (review the description in the Missionary Handbook) or music playing devices that have a screen or connect to the Internet; other stuff you think they might send that won’t work for you (especially large, heavy stuff). Tell them about things that you could use, such as clothing (tell them to check the website), journals, thank-you cards, General Conference recordings, pens, updated family photos, family history information and books with testimonies of family and friends. You can imagine more. You might be so kind as to mention that including some little thing for your companion would be a nice gesture—sometimes we see well-to-do families send piles of presents for their missionaries (they are trying to show love through gifts) when their companion comes from a family that has limited means or shows love through prayers. Avoiding this sort of material goods contrast is helpful and if you come from a more well-to-do family it won’t be a burden for them to send thermal socks for your companion as well as for you. In order to have the packages arrive, be sorted, and get stored safely for delivery at the right time, they will need to be shipped so that they ARRIVE (not get sent, but actually arrive) by December 15 at the MISSION OFFICE (remind of them of the address for packages which is 16124 35th Ave SE, Mill Creek, WA 98012; for letters they should use P.O. Box 13390, Mill Creek, WA 98012-1390).

Preparation Day changes for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will move our preparation days from the Monday before those holidays to the actual holiday. Be sure to warn your family so they don’t think you've forgotten them when you don’t email on that Monday. The Monday will be a regular proselyting day. Also, in the first week of December, email your family about when you will call for Christmas so that it is planned out ahead of time and doesn't require extra, emergency calls.

The only other things I think I would need that were not mentioned here are just basic things I always need; white out (preferably not the liquid kind), sheet protectors, nutella, mascara, eyeliner (preferably the liquid kind), clear packing tape, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, amor... I don't know what else. I am aware that I will new new luggage before I return, as mine are falling apart. If I'm still English, I would want a pocket size hymn book (it's hard to not be able to just whip out my hymn book at members houses and sing with them) and biking shorts. The missionary library books I don't have are Jesus the Christ and Our Search for Happiness.

Also remember that it's not necessary to send me anything. I understand that finances are harder around Christmas, and on top of that to have to send gifts in a package with shipping costs... Yeah, I understand. Don't stress too much about Christmas.

Okay. Moving on. This week was awesome, except that the brakes on my bike didn't work well and I almost died going down these hills in the rain. Then, when they were (kind of) fixed, my tire randomly popped going down a hill on the way to a lesson. That was fun. Thankfully, it wasn't raining that day.

This area is awesome! The members are still great. They feed us almost every night. I had Albanian food last night... It was good, but salty, and suuuper spinachy. Eww.

Sister Mahoni is crazy cool, and super obedient. Best combination in a companion ever. I didn't even know it was possible. She's super funny. I talk to her in Spanish, and she talks back to me in 'Spanish,' but it sounds more like Japanese to me (she doesn't know Spanish, so she makes it up). She did that one time when zone leaders stopped by to fix one of our bikes (hers has issues, too) and we were getting their lunch out of the oven (we made them lunch for using their time, effort, and miles for us), and I said something, and she responded, and two of the zone leaders (they're three packing) were like, "Woah, you taught her really fast!" Sister Mahoni, Elder Ditlevsen, and I just started laughing. Elder Ditlevsen has 10 months left, and he's been waiting for a visa for Brazil that finally got approved last week, but he just turned it down, and somehow he knows better Spanish than Portuguese.

We have this awesome investigator named Emily. She's Vietnamese from Hawaii, and she lives downstairs from us. I don't know if i mentioned her last week. But the sisters before had been wanting to meet with her, and had brought her to a few activities, but she just wasn't interested. So we invited her to the Pinewood Derby, she came, asked for a church tour, we gave her one, it was awesome. We met with her again, and she loved it. They met with her when we went on exchanges, and she got a blessing, and told them that ever since she'd seen the baptismal font on the church tour, she's wanted to be baptized. So she's on date for December 1st. (: Well, we went to see her the next day, and she told me ALL about the lesson they'd have before, and she was like, "They told me to write down my feelings after the blessing, but I couldn't. You just can't describe those feelings. It's not really possible." Her husband is not quite on board, though. She says this is a big step, and she wants to be baptized, but she wants him to approve, as well. She came to church on Sunday.

Also, Katie is awesome. She doesn't believe yet that Christ died and was resurrected, but she's willing to learn. She texted us after the Book of Mormon lesson to ask if it was okay if she downloaded it on her kindle. (: She also came to church this week.

Like I mentioned before, we had exchanges this week. I was with Sister Slade, and we had this lesson with a recent convert who has problems feeling worthy enough for things. So before our next lesson, I was praying, and I still pray in Spanish when we're not in lessons, so I was like, "y que ella puede saber que los demas la aman," and then Sister Slade was like, "Amen!" and opened the car door to leave. I looked at her so confused, and finally said, "... I didn't finish the prayer..." and she was like, "Oh! Sorry!" and closed the door.

Ummm.... I think that's it. Love you all!

Hermana Miller

"Sorry I don't English very well." "What did you say? I did not understand." Oct 20.2014

Dear Family and Friends,

So, transfers. I got transferred back to Lynnwood on bike... and in English. No more Spanish (hopefully just this transfer).

I have the BEST companion. Her name is Sister Mahoni, and she's Tongan, but was raised in Hawaii. Her dad is from New Zealand, and her mom is from the Cook Islands and Tonga.

This transfer has been pretty interesting. I've had a member dinner every night. It's crazy! Who knew members actually wanted missionaries over for dinner! We often also have text conversations that go like this:

Member: Hey sisters! I was just wondering if you had a dinner tonight, because if not, we would love to have you over!

Us: Oh hey, (member)! We do actually have a dinner tonight, sorry! But the next night we don't have a dinner set up is (some day in November) if you'd like to feed us them. (:

What?! This is a whole new world. I feel like I was transferred to a whole different mission, so when people ask how long I've been out, I always want to say, "Oh, I'm new," but before I can, Hermana Mahoni jumps in and says, "She's been Spanish speaking the last 11 months!" Then they're like, "Wow, you're almost done! You've been out so long!" and stuff like that. Then I feel really weird like, "No, I swear I have more that 7 months left, because seven months is like no time at all, and I am not going home soon, because I just got here."

Then when I'm asked to pray, I try to do it in English (so they'll understand), and it feels so awkward in my mouth. I pray in Spanish in the apartment, though.

At dinner last night, they were like, "Sister Miller, pray in Spanish," and I was like, "Okay!" and I did, then their son, sooo cute, kept telling me all the Spanish he knew during dinner. Then afterward, he was like, "If they HAVE to leave, she has to pray again! Otherwise, they can't leave!"

My first dinner, we had legit Tongan food. Some of it was good (I don't know what that stuff was called), but the Tapioca and bananas were bland. This ward is so diverse. Tongans, Fijians, Koreans, Hawaiians, people from Nepal, Switzerland, Ethiopia, and then, of course, the white people.

We had a lesson with a new investigator the other day named Vida, and she's from Ghana. She was so awesome! She wants to be baptized, and she wants her 11 year old daughter to be baptized, too.

Then we went to go see this guy named Tony (a former). We send out a scripture every night, and he'd been responding lately like, "Thank you, I really needed to hear that." So we stopped by to see him, shared my favorite scripture, and he looooved it. The spirit was so strong as we testified to him, and he wants to start learning again.

Then the next day, a member called, and she was like, "I don't like that you girls are walking all over Lynnwood just because Sister Miller hasn't gotten a bike yet." (because the sister here before took her bike with her, and in Everett, the elders had been 3 packing, and one of the elders returned from his mission, so they just had an extra (but slightly broken) bike sitting in their apartment, and we were waiting for a member from up there to bring it to me)

So Sister Smith (that awesome member) took us out and BOUGHT ME A BIKE. She is fantastic! I had no idea members did stuff like that! I don't know that it's a very good missionary bike, decorations wise, but it's great. It's a cruiser bike, haha, with Hawaiian flowers and a Hawaiian looking cup holder on it. But it has seven gears and fenders, which was all I was looking for, but this awesome member was like, "No, it always has to be 24 inches, because you are a young lady, wearing a skirt all day every day, and you should not have to life your leg any higher than that to get on your bike that you shouldn't even have to have because sisters should have cars." So this bike was the only one that fit all her requirements.

I LOVE MEMBERS. And they come to lessons a lot. That's new, too.

Mm.... I think this is all. Our members are awesome, our investigators are solid, things are great.

The only downside is that being English speaking makes me feel like I'm back home, which freaks me out because I am a missionary for life.

This other awesome member, she gave us Boeing scarves from the first Boeing flight that apparently only Boeing workers have!! :D Also, she told me that sisters, when they return from their missions, if they're not married in a year, they can go back on a mission if they want.

MISSIONARY FOR LIFE!! :D

We're also planning a luau. It's super cool.

Seester Meeller.

Es que no puede! Oct. 13, 2014

Querido familia y amigos,

We got the cops called on us this week. Oh, the joys of being a missionary. (: We were tracting this apartment complex, and we knocked on this one door, and this woman kept threatening us, saying she was going to call the cops, that this was private property, she was going to sic her dog on us, ect ect. We were trying to politely leave, but she kept swearing at us, so we finally just left, her screaming at us the whole way. So we knocked doors on the other side of the building, and we hear a deep voice say, "Police," and we see a cop car in the parking lot. Then we hear this lady talking about two girl missionaries that knocked on her door.

We got out of there real fast. It also was looking like a purely white and Russian apartment complex, anyway, and therefore, not a good use of time for Spanish missionaries.

The Thursday before transfers is leadership calls. I've never gotten a leadership call before, not even for a companion, so I was super surprised with the district leader called. Hermana Simental is training! So that means I'm either being transferred, or we're three pack training. Or Hermana Simental will white wash train, but that's not very likely. We're still waiting on the transfer call, so I'll let you know as soon as I know. (:

We've decided not to tell the other missionaries that she's training, because they're all chismosos and we're tired of that. (: So they're all making transfer predictions, and they're all completely off. (:

... Well, that's pretty much it. Love you all!

Hermana Miller

P.S. I filled my first memory card on my camara! :D

We just got the text. I'm being transferred. I wonder where I'm going? I've been in all but two of the Spanish areas, so we'll see.

                                                                               P-day antics in Everett.

                                                                      

"I May Not Be My Brother's Keeper, But I Am My Brother's [Sister]" Oct 5

Querida Familia y Amigos,

Este semana.

We found some pretty solid investigators, so that's cool. (: Not a lot really happened.

Friday, we had exchanges, so we exchanged Thursday night. I went to the STL's area, a YSA ward. After we prayed for planning, before we officially started planning, President called. Apparently, he'd called the other hermanas first, assuming I'd be there, then found out I wasn't. So he called, we talked a while, my heart broke, and Sister Smith and I elected to skip planning and change into our pajamas and do the girly bawling into your ice cream bit.

The next day, we only had set lessons, which is good. We talked to this guy named Kevin from Indonesia. He'd met with missionaries before (incidentally, Hermana Simental, haha), and they'd given him a Book of Mormon, which he took with him back to Indonesia, and he actually read it. (: Not all the way through, but he read it, and he said he felt lifted up when he read. (:

And all the other lessons we had that day were just as solid. I now want to serve in a Single's Ward, but somehow also stay Spanish. Hmmm...

Conference this weekend was AWESOME. It was so good. I felt the spirit a ton and learned a lot. Then we went to Cottage Meeting last night, too! It was sooooo good. (:

Sorry that I'm almost out of time, I had a ton of personal emails this week.

Love you all! Sooo much!

Hermana Miller

"Si, Utah es lleno de misioneros ratonados." Sept 29,2014

Querido familia y amigos,

This week. Wednesday, we got to teach the English class. It was so fun. The elders just asked us to do a review of what they taught last week, so we reviewed clothes, but they already knew about clothes. Then they started asking questions about spelling and pronunciation, so we explained the vowels and the circumstances when they're pronounced differently and why, and they loved it. It was so cool to see them understand.

Thursday, we went back to the church because Grosera (Hermana Guevara (: ) said she was going to meet us there to give us dinner because her kids had to come to the dance practice. Well, okay. So, there's a Regional Spanish Conference by the temple in Bellevue on October 27th that we are not allowed to go to because it is outside of the mission boundaries. Our branch and the other branches in the North West side on Washington have been asked to perform an authentic Mexican dance from Jalisco that I have forgotten the name of, but looks super cool.

So we went to the church at 5, and brought Elizabeth and George so that they could come to a lesson with us afterward. Grosera was unable to come because there was a football game or something, but Elizabeth and George danced, and I took a lot of pictures. (:

Afterwards, we went to find 'Juan.' We had been phone contacting a week before (calling the people in the phone we don't know so that we can have more people to teach), and he said we could come by and sent his address. We didn't realize until we were on our way that it was the Elder's area, and once we realized that, we decided that we would just do How to Begin Teaching, then pass him off.

So we're driving down the creepiest street ever (the street he lives on), and we're not sure which house is his, so we're looking at all the houses to see the numbers. The one we were pretty sure was his, there were people staring at us ominously from the windows. So we found a place to park, prayed, and were about to get out of the car when this guy that looked like a biker came over and asked if we were lost. We said no, that we were looking for a specific house, and we had found it, and he told us to move our car and park closer to the house because this was a really safe neighborhood and we might freak someone out.

So we move and park in front of the house, and as we're walking up to the steps, oh my goodness. It was like some horror movie. These creepy kids come out, and they greet us creepily, and one tells us that it's his birthday. Not wanting to show that we're freaked out, we offer them stickers. Seriously, these kids were creepy, but nothing on the mom. After they each take a sticker, they let us pass to the door, where the mom is waiting. She was talking in a childish, singsongy voice, and at first, we thought she was sticking thread in her mouth, but halfway through our conversation, in which she was telling us that her husband was not at home, and that we were welcome to come in, but he's the only one that would want to learn, she pulled the thread away from her mouth, and we saw that it was strung on a needle, and she'd been poking this needle into her teeth.

So we left, because 'Juan' wasn't there, and as we were leaving, it started raining really hard, and a truck pulled up next to us. It was 'Juan,' and he apologized for being late, and said that he still wanted us to come over, but another day. The rain going home was so creepy, it'd pour like crazy, then stop out of no where, then rain super hard again.

But the next day was good. We knocked on this house, and met this 11 year old and his aunt. This 11 year old just came from Mexico, and he is so prepared!! We're going back to see him again on Tuesday.

Love you all!!

Hermana Miller.

"Tu no sabes." "Si, se!" Sept 22, 2014

Querido Familia y Amigos,

I don't really think much happened this week. We did service this week down on Meadowdale Beach; we helped build the horseshoe pits. The only way to get to Meadowdale Beach is to hike down a really long and steep mountain. Which is fine, but coming back up is more difficult. Then we donated blood. That was fun.

Last night was the second Come See For Yourself Fireside. We brought Sandra. We met with her earlier this week, and she was ready to drop us. She just wants to know the truth, but it was hard for her that missionaries change so much. Which makes sense, but not in this area. Wahlstrom was here eight months, Pellegrini was here four, Martinez was here four, Maama was here six, and I've been here since June. So considering that transfers are every six weeks, this area has had it pretty easy. But we had a member with us, and he shared his testimony on all of the things she had concerns about, so she agreed to come to the CSFY.

We told her we'd be there at 6:20 with a member to take us up to Marysville (where it was this time), but we felt like we needed to be there earlier, so we told the member to meet us there at 6:15. So we get there, and Sandra's in her car, trying to call someone, but when she sees us, she puts the phone down and says she has to change before she can go, so we're like, "Awesome, go for it," and we wait in her living room, and the front door was left open. After a minute, a lady comes and knocks, asking for Sandra. We tell her that she's changing, so she goes back to Sandra's room, and we start quietly freaking out because we're afraid this woman is going to invite Sandra to go somewhere, and Sandra will decide that a Mormon fireside is not for her. But after a minute, the lady leaves, looking disappointed, and Sandra comes out.

But while she was changing, her phone, which she'd left on the counter starts saying that she'd maxed out the time she can use to leave a message, so, being nice missionaries, we delete the message when it gives that option, then we saw the that the number she had been trying to call was ours (our sound on our phone was completely off).

So she comes out, and we get in the member's car, and on the way, she told us that she had been about to call us when knocked on her door, because her friend had called her and said that she was locked out of her house and wanted to hang out with Sandra until her hubby got home; but because we were already there, she felt bad cancelling on us.

We get to the church, and the first person I see is Alyssa Carey. I love that girl. (: But I always get so thrown off when I see her, haha. It's like she's from another life, and she shouldn't be there. (:

Anyway, the fireside was AWESOME. The spirit was so strong as these recent converts shared their testimonies and the videos were shown about how God is our loving Heavenly Father. Sandra was tearing up the whole time, and afterwards, she asked us if she had to know everything to be baptized. "Porque si, tengo que, nunca voy a poder."

It was so cool. We told her that no, she didn't have to know everything, but there were a few basics she would have to know, and we bore our testimonies briefly about God's love for us and the Plan of Salvation, and she's going to call us today to let us know her schedule for the week (because it changes every Monday) so we can stop by and share more. (:

Mmmm... There are three greenies in my district. Hermana Gonzalez is from California, but her parents are Mexican, Elder Paepke is from South Jordan, and Elder Bigelow... Well, I don't know where he's from, because he just got here Saturday night. He just started his mission, he was called to Mexico, but the climate or something was killing him, so he got sent here.

No creo que tengo mas.

Les amo mucho!

Hermana Miller