The Return of Miller Time, Jan 28, 2014

Familia y Amigos,

Wooooww, cosas. Like, wow. We weren't really productive in the way of lessons, this week, as we were preparing for Mari's baptism most of the time, but the lessons we did have were great.

We had exchanges on Wednesday, and Hermana Wahlstrom and I stayed here while Hermana Andersen went to Everett with Hermana Pellegrini (I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but I'm currently in the Lynnwood area). Exchanges, I've decided, only happen on REALLY important days. I don't know if you remember what happened with the exchanges last week, but this week was pretty important, too.

We had another lesson with Diana. Her lessons are always super important because she knows this is true, but is afraid of that, and it's hard to meet with her. Well, now she's on date to be baptized. (: March 8.

We visited the family that pretty much dropped us, on a whim of the Spirit, and they said they prayed about what we asked them to, and they don't know for sure what God wants, so we can continue teaching them. (:

We visited someone that was on date, but needed to come to Church first, and didn't, so we had to change her date, and hadn't been able to meet with her because she works and has school all the time, and we got a return appointment.

We had a lot of contacts that day, too. It was great.

The baptism on Saturday? So great! Hermana Andersen spoke on bautismo, Mari's brother-in-law spoke on El Espiritu Santo. As he's the brother of her sister's white husband, I was a little concerned when she said to put him on the program, especially where she doesn't speak any English, but he's fluent. He served Spanish speaking, and they only hablan Espanol in his house.

After the actual baptism, which was great, Hermano Colin bore his testimony, and then I bore mine. The Spirit was so strong the entire time. (:

The Plan of Salvation activity was pretty awesome, too. It went really fluidly. None of our investigators came, but the Everett Spanish sisters had a family come that now wants to be baptized ASAP so they can be sealed in the temple in a year. (:

Super exciting news that isn't mine? I found out just now that yesterday, my brother got his patriarchal blessing. That is so awesome! I am so happy for him! Yaaaaay!!

As you've guessed from the title, Miller Time is back. I'm pretty excited. As the Noche de Hogar (family home evening) with the Colin's, during the dinner part, Hermana Colin asked Hermana Andersen if she'd ever work in a bar (as Hermana Andersen, my companion, is from Las Vegas), and she said no. Well, apparently, Hermana Colin, before she joined the Church, was a bartender. So that's interesting. And Hermano Colin was like, "There's a brand of beer called Miller Time. Did you guys know that?" and we all laughed, then, when we started the NdH, Hermano Colin was like, "Hermana Miller Time, puede dirigir para nosotros?" so I conducted the music, and the rest of the NdH, he was like, "Hermana Miller Time, cosascosascosas,"

So that's pretty exciting. But also, the District Leaders (we have two, meaning they're both called as District Leader, rather than a DL and a DL Wifey. This is also the first only Spanish District, so we're thinking that President Bonham is testing the waters to make a Spanish only Zone. That would be cool) texted us this morning and said that, is we had time, and P-Day actually means P-Hours as it's only from 10-6 that it's P-Day, everyone is the District is meeting at the stake center for volleyball today. So I guess this means Miller Time is back. If only we had pina, jamaica, and manzana juice.

Les quiero,

Hermana Miller

Que Clase De Hombre es Este? or Grosero! Jan 21, 2014

Hola familia y amigos!

I couldn't decide what title to give this week, as Hermana Guevara is always saying "Grosero!" to su hijo, Sabashtion, and it is so funny, and we watched Finding Faith in Christ with a menos activo the other day, and when one of the apostles says, "What manner of man is this?" about Christ when He stills the waters, it was "Que clase de hombre es este?" and for some reason, Hermana Andersen and I thought that was so funny.

Wow. Okay. We had exchanges this week. Sister (yes, Sister. Not Hermana) Millett came to my area, and Hermana Andersen went with Sister Barker. Sister Millett does not speak Spanish. At all. So it was basically just me. And we had a lesson planned with someone who KNOWS this is true, but is afraid of baptism/her husband and so it's hard to schedule time with her, Mari, and that familia that wants to drop us. So no pressure, basically, right?

I asked Hermana Guevara to come to the lesson with Diana, so that went well because Hermana Guevara's a convert, so I feel like she connected with Diana really well. Diana still doesn't want to be baptized, but she's considering coming to Mari's baptism.

The lesson with Mari was great! So great. It was about the 10 Commandments, so we taught her the hand signs to remember them. I did all the talking, obviously, and I let Sister Millett to show the signs and read "Thou shalt not kill," because it's just, "No mataras," so I figured that was easy for her, and she was grateful for that.

But the family that wants to drop us? They weren't home, and we haven't been able to get a hold of them. ): Que triste.

Ummm... Mari is so ready for baptism. It's amazing. She bore her testimony in Relief Society on Sunday, and it was so great. I am so grateful to be a part of this. (:

We have exchanges again tomorrow, because Hermana Andersen is essentially the STL (Sister Training Leader) over the Spanish sisters in our district, but luckily, they are SPANISH sisters. So I won't be the only one teaching. (:

Now I want to share a song with you. Hermana Andersen and I sing it every time we go check the mail. If you had a childhood, you know the tune, but we changed the wording slightly.

"It's the time that always fails, it makes me want to sag my tail and wail, Mail Time! ):"

I don't mean to be "That Missionary," but Hermana Andersen told me I have to be more vocal about my thoughts, and told me it would help to say this. We're working really hard. I know that you guys love me, but this is America. It takes three days or so for mail to get here. So I can't even lie to myself anymore like I did in Mexico. I can't just tell myself, oh, there's something coming, but it's in the mail.

Because I don't want to be "That Missionary," I'm not trying to guilt trip you or anything, I'm just trying to say that I would appreciate some letters. I'm almost into transfer two (in the field), and the only letter I received here was when I arrived, and it was from a long lost family member I didn't even remember I had. ...

But now I feel really bad, so if you don't want to send me letters, that's cool, too. It's not too big of a deal.

I am really looking forward to Mari's baptism, the Plan de Salvacion activity we are doing, and the Mujeres Jovenes New Beginnings this week!

The New Beginnings is at 1:30 on Saturday, and we need to be there to translate for the Stake Councilmen. Mari's baptism is at 3 the same day, and her brother-in-laws from Utah are driving out for it!! Que animada!

The Plan de Salvacion actividad is Saturday, also, at 6. It'll be great. We're starting in this life, and Hermana Andersen and I will talk about how this life is hard, but with the Doctrine of Christ (Fe en Jesucristo, Arrepentmiento, Bautismo, Recepcion del don del Espiritu Santo, y Perseverar Hasta El Fin [Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End]), we can make it through.

Then we'll go to the Mundo de los Espiritus (Spirit World), where we'll watch people act being a family sharing the gospel with their grandparents.

Then we'll touch on resurrection and how we'll all have perfect bodies, then it'll be the judgment, the three kingdoms of glory, and how we all want to go to the Celestial Kingdom. Then we'll have hot chocolate and clam dip. (:

Pues, el fin.

Les queremos!

Hermana Miller

Sarcastical Brittnerizing Jan 13,2014

Querido Amigos y Familia,

Wow. Okay. Let's get started a little bit. So much happened this week.

We met a menos activo familia, the Gueveras. They're great. They're so great. We helped them take down their Navidad decorations and had a Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening/Family Night) with them. They even came to church yesterday!!

And the Colin's (Pronounced Cole-een)! They're so great. We helped them fold napkins into the shape of suit coats for a wedding. They're practically fluent in English, and they're hilarious. The title today? Dedicated to Hermano Colin. And they're the best at couponing. They got 80 rolls of paper towels for $5. Holy flip. Aaaaand, they love missionaries. They gave us two packages of camping supplies. (If you understand why we need camping supplies, laugh now.) But they both (hermana y hermano Colin) got in car accidents this week. ): They're both fine, but it's sad.

We had to drop a family. ): That was very triste.

And a family essentially dropped us! ): We've been helping them move into their new apartment and clean it up, because the other people that live there (it's very normal for Hispanics to live with Hispanics they're never even met before) are very dirty, and when we met the other night, they said they believe in their Church, but we're really nice. But that was after we had set up a return appointment, so we asked then to study the pamphlet and ask God that night what He wanted them to do, so that when we returned to help clean up a little, it could either be our last visit, or the start of them progressing.

And Mari. :D So, she's been taking the leccions, and believes it, but didn't feel like she was getting an answer about whether or not she should be baptized. At our last real lesson with her, at the end, when Hermana Andersen was bearing her testimony, I saw Mari sitting there on the floor, but I couldn't shake the image of her sitting there in baptismal clothes. Two days passed, and we hadn't heard from them (she lives with her member sister now while she's visiting from Spain), which wasn't too bad, because our next leccion was scheduled for tomorrow.

But the next time we were to see her was at the English Class we started on Friday. Hermana Frandsen (the sister) called us Friday, and (shhhh, no. Let me tell the story.) was like, "I am so sorry, hermanas. We cannot make it to the English Class tonight." and we were oh, okay ): and talked about that for a couple minutes.

Then we were about to hang up, and Hermana Frandsen was like, "Oh! One more thing; you guys might want to plan a baptism for the 26th." She said it all casual like, and so we were quiet for a second as the meaning sunk in. Then ensued shrieks of excitement and disbelief.

So, apparently, after the lesson the other day, we left, and Mari was like, "MariaCarmen, I feel so weird. I feel... like I'm floating." and Hermana Frandsen was like, "Well, what do you think it is?" and Mari was like,"The Spirit?" and Hermana Frandsen was like, "Well, what should we do about it?" and that was when Mari decided to get baptized. :D

So, that's exciting. Like, really exciting. I am so excited. You have no idea how excited I am.

Now I'm going to share a scripture I read this week with you. Enjoy it:

Mosiah 8:18 Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings.

I really like that because as to our own strength, we can't do that much. Like with Mari, we're been teaching her, and teaching her, but it wasn't until she let the Spirit in that she knew she was ready for baptism. Baptism is such a miracle, because it's the first (well, third, it's after faith in Jesucristo and repentance) step to returning to live with our Heavenly Father. But God also can't just be like, "Hey, Mari. Go get baptized." We had to go and introduce her to His and His Son's evangelio and, with His help, get her to the point where she felt she needed baptism. So, through our faith, and Mari's faith, Hermana Andersen y y podemos hacer mighty miracles and become a great benefit to the Hispanic gente here in Washington. (: El fin.

Les queremos!

Hermana Miller

I Hope They Call Me On A Mission Jan 6th 2014

Familia y Amigos,

Pues. Muchas cosas. I entered Washington on New Years. That was probably the best New Years ever because I was in bed my 9:30.

Mi nueva companera se llama Hermana Andersen. I'm so blessed to have been given the best misionera as my trainer.

We have a lot of investigators. A lot more than I expected. We even have a baptismal date set for one; for Claudia. I've only met her once, in passing, but she's so great.

I'm having this problem that when I meet people, I just want to be like, "Hola, soy Hermana Miller," and shake there hand, but that's not the Hispanic culture. I'm not used to hugging and this kissing on the cheek. It catches me off guard every time.

One of our investigators se llama Mari. She's from Spain, and she returns there next month. She is so great, and is so close to setting a baptismal date, but ella todavia tiene dudas.

Ummm... The first dinner with a member? We had this kind of soup with noodles in it, and they passed around this... stuff that looked like curry, but it wasn't curry. They said, "Tratarlo, es picoso."

Pues, no supe que es picoso, so I put the same size spoonful in my soup as Hermana Anderson (like, a full, large spoonful), who LIKES picoso (spicy) stuff. That soup was sooooo spicy. Oh my goodness. And it was a really large bowl. Like, if I had bowls like that and one day was like, "Hmmm, yo quiero sopa," I would only fill it half way. But it was full. And spicy. And I had to eat all of it.

The other dinners have been fine, just a little spicy.

Church yesterday was fine. There are four companionships in our branch, and Elderes Wagner and Crowley taught the Principios del Evangelio class. I am so jealous of their Spanish. I can understand mostly all Spanish now, when people don't speak in a whisper (en serio, por que do they do that?), but I don't feel like I know enough Spanish to just rattle it off like that. Hermana Andersen says she's jealous of my Spanish, that I know so much more than she did when she entered the field, but her Spanish is so good ahora that that doesn't make me feel much better.

Entonces... Hoy es mi primera P-Day en el campo, and not too soon, I might say. We made sure to do laundry before we left, but even still, it's getting close. AND, we've had almost no nutella since I got here. How can I be a nutella obese butterfly without nutella?

I'm sorry this email is so all over the place, more so than usual. That's how I think, remember?

But I am so blessed that Hermana Andersen is so great. I don't even stress too much, because I know she knows what she's doing, and she's not going to just let me fall by the wayside because I don't know anything.

We had Taco Bell and frozen yogurt the other day!! That's what I've been waiting for these last six weeks. (:

It's really cold here. Like, colder than Mexico was (surprisingly, Mexico was cold). Pero esta bien, porque tenenmos un coche. (: Y we listen to music! :D Entonces, familia, si vosotros quiere, you can go through my... I think the green box in my closet, find my Amy Grant, General Conference 2012, Dirk and Bennie (the church one, not Bennie's new CD Strike Down. That would not be good.), What Heaven Sees in You... and the other churchy (but not VeggieTales) CD's I have and send them to me with that dictionary. (: We're allowed to listen to anything that makes us think of Christ, but aren't too not-missionary-y, so with the Any Grant CD, I can listen to all the songs but Fat Baby. (:

Ummm.... No mas. Oh! So, the address we gave out to people at my farewell that we got from my handbook? It was wrong. So, if you want to write to me, please to not send it to my mission president's home address, send it here:

Hermana Karolina Miller   (make sure you put Karolina in there. Or Lina is fine, too)

Washington Everett Mission

P.O. Box 13390

Mill Creek, Washington

98082

The packages address was fine, but if you still have questions, it's:

Hermana Karolina Miller

Washington Everett Mission

16124 35th Avenue Southeast

Mill Creek, Washington

98012

Amor,

Hermana Miller

Come On, Vamanos! Everybody, Let's Go! Dec.29

Yo sé que no es Jueves. Esta bien. We leave tomorrow and Tuesday (I leave Tuesday, so I'll probably be on again tomorrow to respond to emails.

I just wanted to share with you the Family Christmas Picture(s).

Back row: Elders Favero, McKenzie, Peterson, Perkins, Jeppson, and Johanson.

Front row: Hermano Hernandez (el mejor maestro en al CCM), Elder Forrest, me, Hermana Bingham, and Hermana Weller.

Also, Hermano Vargas took the picture. He and Hermano Hernandez are bestest friends. They are so cool. I'm so sad to be leaving the people in these pictures.

Les Amo,

Hermana Miller