#GraciasaqueÉlvive March 30,2015

Querida Familia y Amigos,

This week was pretty good. We didn't do anything out of the ordinary, we tocared puertas, we taught some people, we found some members who had recently moved from Guatemala (recently like December) and didn't know where the Spanish congregation was, so we told them and they came to church on Sunday, even though (per usual) we did not have any investigators at church.

I really enjoyed the Woman's Conference, as well. It talked a lot about families, though, that was kind of hard because I love my family a lot, and I haven't seen them for a while, and I know I'll see them after a transfer.

Something really cool I want to tell you guys about is that we found a Chileana (a woman from Chile). During the course of my mission, I hadn't met anyone from Chile, in fact, I forgot it was a country where people spoke Spanish. Then Kelton got his call to Chile, then we find Laura. (: She's really cool. We haven't been able to teach her yet, but she's solid. We left her with the first pamphlet to read before we came back, then we unable to set a return appointment because she works crazy hours and doesn't even know her schedule. We thought it was a lost cause because she was like, "Yeah, just any time you're in the area, you can stop by and see if I'm here," because tampoco does she have a phone. But we stopped by again this week and she was heading out to work, but we asked if she'd read the pamphlet. She had, and she said she loved it. She said everything made sense, and she wished she had time to discuss it with us. Then we asked if there was another time we could stop by and got the same response as last time, but she asked if there was anything else she could read. So we left her with the Gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet. We stopped by again later to invite her to womans conference, and again, she was leaving for work and not able to go, but she loved the pamphlet, so we shared with her a #BecauseHeLives card. She's progressing all on her own! She just needs to stop working long enough to meet with us and come to church. (:

#BecauseHeLives! That is the coolest new thing. Cooler than Justin Beiber or Frozen or some other worldly thing that I don't understand! Click it (if your clicker doesn't want to click it, typehelives.mormon.org into the search bar). Watch it. Share on facebook with your testimony and the hashtag #BecauseHeLives. Tell people you see on the street about this cool 2 minute video that's cooler than any Vine (even the one with the cute little kid yelling "MY PLAN IS TO GO TO AFRICA, MARRY A BLACK MAN, HAVE CHILDREN THAT LOOK LIKE CHOCOLATE"), any cat video on youtube, cooler that Charlie biting his brothers' finger, cooler than a unicorn also named Charlie, cooler than Kid History, cooler than Julian Smith (is that it? or is he Jillian Michaels? I don't remember) cooler than ANYTHING. And, added bonus, as soon as the music starts, WHOOSH. You can feel the Spirit. Wow.

Love you guys!

Hermana Miller

"Are you my new neighbors?" "Are you the servants?" March 23,2015

Querida Familia y Amigos,

This week was terribly normal. We tracted a lot. Dropped some people. No one came to church. It's a little discouraging, to be honest.

So, to make it not so bad, we decided to do some secret service. We went over to Paola's house. I don't know if you guys remember her, she's a former from Peru. Loooove her. Well, their yard esta bien feo. So many weeds and dead grass. They want to fix it, but Michael works all the time and Paola and Yudi are taking care of Micah and working in the house all day long, so they don't have time, either. So Hermana Webb and I went over and spent an hour picking weeds. (: There's still a lot to go, we didn't even make a dent. But we will return and work some more next week. The neighbors all came up and talked to us. It was crazy, who knew people actually communicated with their neighbors anymore? Usually, we're like, "Do you know anyone around here that speaks Spanish?" and they're like, "Honestly, I've been living here for x years, and I don't know anyone." But these neighbors were super nice. (: One of them, wow. When he returned to his car to bring in the groceries his wife had just bought, his neighbor pulled in and saw the carpet truck out front and all the carpet things in the driveway (it wasn't raining this day, surprise, I know), was like, "Hey (neighbor's name)! How are you? What's going on? Are you remodeling? Do you need any help?" Hermana Webb and I just turned to each other in shock. What? What is this? We decided the neighbor that just arrived was a member.

Another man greeted us as he walked past to take his dog on a walk. When he was returning, he saw us still working in the yard, and he called out to us, "Are you the servants?" It was so funny. But it was also a really good opportunity to introduce ourselves ("Yes, we are. Haha, no. (: We're actually the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ on Latter-day Saints, and when we're not sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, we love to do service, so we just wanted to come and do yard work for some of our friends. Do you need any service?"). That was fun. (:

One of our STL's is sick. ): Like, super sick. They're not quite sure what it is, but she just got over pneumonia last transfer, so that might have something to do with it. So we've been on a lot of exchanges this week, as her companion still needs to work in their area. They're English, so their area is within our area, so it's actually been slightly beneficial for us. Their area is the part of our area that we haven't worked in a lot because it seems super white. So as we've visited with their members and investigators, we've been able to ask if they know anyone Spanish around there. The answer, after much thought, is usually no, an that's really helpful, because now we know that we don't have to tract those specific neighborhoods and waste our time. (:

I think that's about it...

I love you guys! Have a great week!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Miller

Young child (3 year old) is eating a laffy taffy* "Wow, is that banana?" "No, is candy." March 162015

 Lynnwood in the spring

Querida Familia y Amigos,

First of all, I have to share the best thing ever that I got today from my younger brother, Kelton:

"I kind of sort of got my mission call. Y by kind of sort of I mean I did. I got called to the Chile Concepción South mission. I leave July 15 and I get to go to the Mexico MTC as well. So yeah it's pretty exciting. Also there are  pingüinos  in my mission. That is especially cool."

I cannot express how excited I am. (: He's going to be an awesome missionary. And he'll be speaking Spanish. BEST LANGUAGE EVER. (:

This week was good. We tracted a lot, but it was good. But we also dropped Yuliet. ); I'm sooo sad. I love Yuliet sooo much. ): She's my favorite sassy pants Cuban. Hermana Webb and I decided that after dropping someone, we need an hour of mourning time. We're going to tell President and explain to him that teaching in Spanish is so much different that English. Yes, in English, you love your investigators, but when you teach in Spanish, you love them at a deeper level, all the way to the core. It's like charity, the pure love of Christ. You develop more charity when you speak Spanish, so when you drop someone, it's UNREASONABLE to expect that you'll be able to go touch doors (tocar puertas means knock doors, but tocar also means to touch) and be super happy when you've just dropped someone you care so much about. Al lyou want to do after that is stop by the store on the way to the apartment to by ice cream and brownies, then cry into said ice cream and brownies for the rest of the night while you engordarse. Sorry, there's not really a good English for that. Engordarse is to make yourself fat, and in English, it doesn't sound as good.

Haha, so, I want to share my side of something, then what Hermana Webb sent in her email. So, yesterday, for lunch, I decided I wanted pancakes (hey, I heard those "Oh, no"s. Have more faith in me!). Never before in my life have I made pancakes. So I follow the recipe on the box and heat up the pan before I put anything in it (the housing coordinators have been making a big deal out of that). The pancake mix seems thicker than I've ever seen my mom or dads (or even brothers'), but I figure because I followed the recipe of the box, it'd be okay.

I have never had such disgusting pancakes in my life. I didn't know it was possible to have burnt raw pancakes. So gross.

So this is Hermana Webb's account:

And I also learned that sometimes Heavenly Father puts you in people's lives to bless them for a variety of reasons. For example, Hermana Miller's cooking skills are...well less than par. Haha. She tried to make pancakes yesterday and I walk into the kitchen to see all this smoke and this black, fat glob of dough that somewhat resembled a pancake sitting in the pan. Hahahaha. Oh man. So the next day, I made sure to teach her how to make some delicious golden-brown pancakes without almost burning the apartment down. So that was our cooking adventure of the week!

Ha ha. Ha. Yeah...

But! We had a... super cool? Is that appropriate? I don't know. We had an experience last night. We went over to visit the Lopez familia, and they were having the glummest fiesta I have ever seen. There was plenty of drinking (we haven't gotten to the Word of Wisdom yet), but no laughing, not even talking. Carlos and a lot of men are drinking out on the porch (it's a covered porch, luckily. It was raining cats and dogs), and he tells us that we can go on in and talk to Maria. So we go in (after I, of course, make a fool out of myself be trying to make some jokes), and as we close the door, we freeze. We see Maria, Gloria, and a lot of other women sitting around the table. All the lights are out (except the tv's on, sound off, to distract the kids), and there's a candle lit in the middle of the table. Everyone here looks super sad, and some of them are drinking, too.

Hermana Webb and I's first thought? Exorcism. I don't know why, I've never even heard about anyone performing an exorcism on my mission.

Thankfully, no. But sadly, Carlos' dad passed away. ): So after a minute of sitting with them around the table, and Maria telling them that we 'come to read the Bible with her children' and we speak Spanish, they called the men inside, and then we all stand as one of them says a prayer, then we sit again, and we're invited to share a message. Obviously, we skip ahead to the plan of salvation. It was really cool to see the respect that they all had for us. Not for me, Karolina Miller. Not for my adorable companion, McKenzie Webb. But for Hermana Miller and Hermana Webb, representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ. This reminds me of some verses in Alma;


 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.

 Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land.

I know this is the true church with the plenitude of the Gospel of Jesus Christ restored on the earth again. There is nothing I would rather be doing with my time than to share this beloved gospel with los que me rodean. Those that surround me? I encourage and invite you all to share this as well. I love you all!

Hermana Miller

 
                                       1. I bought these all the same day. That makes me Mexican right?

                                                                                2. Narnia!

                                                                               3. Valentines Day! (:

                                              Fat man eating a sandwich, or cute satyr playing his pipes?

                                                      El Plan de Salvacion. With a cupcake?

Rama Makeover: EVERY MEMBER A MISSIONARY

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Hermana. This is Sodom and Gomorrah. They're going to charge extra for pizza March 9,2014

Querida Familia y Amigos,

                                                               Cup cake sandwiches with the district

This week. Oh man. I feel like the last couple of transfers has just been tracting, teaching (not as often as tracting, though), nobody at church, and dropping. It's hard sometimes, but I love it. I'm still rooting for never going home, aun que lo tengo que hacer porque Krystal quiere casarse, ayyy.

Why would I be willing to tract, have nobody at church, and drop people for the rest of my life? (Well, preferably, it wouldn't be just tracting, no one at church, and dropping, that's just sad.) Because sometimes, you don't drop people, but go to church and they progress to make covenants with our Heavenly Father, and take that first step to living with Him again (baptism). (: And also because as you meet the people and get to know them... It's like (sorry to be worldly) on the King and I. "Getting to know you, getting to know all about you. Getting to like you, getting to hope you like me." I LOVE these people SOOO much. It's SO HARD to drop people, because even after the first lesson, I just have sooo much love for them. SO MUCH. It's not even really possible to explain this love. It's almost (pues, it probably is) like I'm being blessed to feel the love that our Heavenly Father feels for them. Seriously. I love them so much it hurts. Like when Nadia and Yuliet didn't come to church this week, Hermana Webb and I were sooo sad. I don't know about her, but I almost cried. It hurts sooo much when people don't keep their commitments. Not people they didn't keep their promise to me, goodness no. I'm not at all important. Because they're not taking those steps toward our Heavenly Father, who loves them so much more that I do (that's a lot, folks. I don't know if you've ever sat down and thought about the love that our Savior and our Father have for us, but it's A LOT), and all He wants is for them to come unto Him and His Son, but they're not taking the steps. ):

So, pretty much, that was this week. Touching doors, teaching here and there, and nobody at church. Buuuttttt, I was to talk about cute little Yuliet for a second. (:

I LOVE Yuliet. She is so great. She's a fiery, sassy pants Cuban, but she knows that her family is the most important cosa, and everything she does is for them. She's so awesome. (: But. So, she doesn't really like to get close to people, because she feels like, here in the Estados Unidos, nobody really has friends, because they're too busy working all the time, and they never call just to hang out, they only call when they need something, usually money. But, every time she answers the phone, as soon as she realizes it's us, her voice goes from cold and hard to... how do you explain... I don't know. But you can hear in her voice how much she loves us. And when she answers the door, her face goes from stressed and a little annoyed to super happy, and her eyes, man. Her eyes just light up, and her whole countenance changes.

So, that's all. Oh, wait. Here.

We saw this dad and his two young sons playing hockey in roller blades in the parking lot as we were stopped at a stoplight. It was so cute!! Because the boys were just little squirts and the dad was really making them play. We saw him racing his son for the puck and then he just shoves his son down and sends the puck soaring into the net. Hahaha so funny. I love seeing families outside playing together!

We're also gonna have a baptism soon!! Yay! So here's the story- this guy's name is Eltori. He's been going to church basically every Sunday for a year and is STILL not baptized! He has a strong testimony and is such a good person! He's like 50 and he goes around shouting in Spanish "ORALE!!" Hahaha he cracks us up! But recently he got surgery and took care of some medical problems that were an issue for him before baptism. But now he is recovered and finally has the desire to make this sacred covenant with God. We were reading in Mosiah 18 with him where it describes the promises we make at baptism. We asked if he was willing to "cry with those that cry and comfort those that stand in need of comfort." We asked him what he would do if we were really sad. He says well I would just pat your head and say "no llores, no llores!" Haha he's got that part down!

"Woah! Don't stand behind the car! If you wanna back the car, stand to the side!" March 2

Familia ♥ and Amigos,

This week was really good. (: We found a lot of new people. But we dropped Paola. ): She told us that she had a serious talk with her husband, telling him that she wants to be able to keep the Sabbath day holy and be baptized, and she wanted everyone to be on the same page so that Mikah would grow up with stability and her parents not torn apart by religion. So he told her no, he's not willing to commit to even take the lessons. ): So, no more Paola or Yudi. They told us, though, that they know the church is true, and when people ask them spiritual questions or ask them to suggest a church, they will share their testimonies and tell them about our church. Someday, they will all be sealed together, and be a super strong, gospel-oriented family. I know that.

Ummm... Oh, yeah. So, I survived transfers, and so did Hermana Webb! We're still here in Lynnwood, except that we had to move into an apartment in Mill Creek (still in our area. Spanish covers bigger areas, especially now that we're running out of Spanish). At first, we were bummed (about moving, not about staying together. Hermana Webb is a super solid missionary and I love her (: ), but then we got to the apartment. It's the BEST. The reason we had to move is because they needed someone to occupy the apartment, because it's super close to the mission office, and it's where they send the sisters their last night in the mission. So they need to make sure someone's living there so it can be clean there can be food and toiletries and all that good stuff. So this is the best apartment in the mission. It has two bedrooms (but Hermana Webb and I sleep in the same room, you know, missionary rules), two bathrooms (the first time in my whole life that I have had my own bathroom. (: ), a magical garbage can (seriously. It lives outside our front door, and we just put our garbage in there at night, and in the morning, when we go to the gym, it's gone. MAGICAL), and a super legit gym (it's great. We work out in the morning, and we get super sweaty. Who knew that'd be something I'd love?). Seriously. Best mission apartment ever. The only downsides are that we have beds everywhere (two bunk beds in our room, a bunk bed in the living room, and two beds in the spare room), and the kitchen is kind of small. But we LOVE it. (: And the last Sunday of the transfer, three of my previous companions will stay with us. That's crazy.

We finally got a branch mission leader!! Yay!! I haven't have a branch/ward mission leader since I was english, and before that... my fourth transfer, and that was my first branch mission leader. Crazy. I'm on transfer number twelve. The downside? He doesn't know any Spanish. His wife served in Spain, so that's why they're in the branch, but he doesn't know any Spanish.

So, I think that's it. (: Hermana Webb and I have a lot of hambre, so we're going to Cafe Rio. Yay! (:

Adios! Les quiero mucho!

"Where are two good girls like you going?" "Oh, we're going to the park to find someone to teach." Feb 23 2014

Como estan? This week was wonderful!!

So this week we scored because we found the biggest group of Cubans! There was an awesome lady last week, Nadia. We thought she was white, so we started contacting her in English. She looked confused, but let us in and served us up some dinner. We discovered that she was Cuban, so she spoke Spanish, so we starting introducing our message. Well, we went back and found this huge group of Cubans hanging out and got to know all of her friends! They invited us to join their volleyball team! Haha, they are SUPER nice people. So we started teaching one of her friends, Yuliet, and she is so awesome. During the second lesson, we taught her about the Book of Mormon. When Hermana Webb pulled out a copy to show her, she said, "Hey, I already have one of those!" Ummm...what?! So I guess she met some missionaries a few years ago. But she was really busy with her little baby, so they didn't teach her much. But she has kept that Book of Mormon in her box of important things for all these years. She's never read it, but pulled it out and there were already some bookmarks in there with questions she was supposed to find answers to. It was so cool how the Lord had prepared this lady to let missionaries in to teach her at a time in her life when she's ready to learn. She had kept that book even though she had no idea it's importance. Gives me hope that even though some people aren't ready to hear right now, leaving behind simply a copy of the Book of Mormon could lead them to open their doors in the future!

We also have another new person we're teaching named Victor. So we went over to visit a less-active member of the church. And instead of finding him, we found his cuinada's boyfriend. He tells us that Cesar's busy, but that instead, we could teach him about our church. Andale!! He just totally poured out his whole soul to us about being lost in his life and all the regrets about his past and his desire to change his life around. We testified that is it NEVER too late to change and that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, he can be freed from this huge load that he's carrying. The Spirit was strong in that lesson. At the end, we told him that he could start this path back to God by saying a prayer. He told us that he didn't feel worthy and that it had been over 20 year since he had offered a prayer. We kneeled down and Victor offered the most beautiful, sincere prayer I've ever heard. I almost cried, watching this man talk to a Heavenly Father who hadn't heard from His son in 20 years. It was a beautiful moment.

A couple days later, we went to go see Kinari, and her mom told us that she went to the park with her nephews because it was such a nice day. So we start walking over to the park, and this man on the other side of the parking lot calls out to us; "Hola! Como estan?" Really confused that he knows that these two white girls speak Spanish, we go over and talk to him. We ask him where he's from, and he says (in English), "Oh, you don't wanna know where I'm from." Ummm, okay. So this cholo keeps talking to us about how it's good that we know God and we share His word, but he's "a badd man, and you probably shouldn't be talking to me." Umm, okay. So then he asks us, de repente, where two good girls like us are going. You guys remember how blonde I am. I say, "Vamos al parque para encontrar alguien para ensenar." I say it super happily, because the sun is shining, and it's a super pretty day, and we're about to teach someone in the park. He kind of looks at me like, "Umm, okay, silly guerra," and says, "Good girls go to heaven." It was so funny.

So, that was this week. It was great. (:

Love you guys!

Hermana Miller