fotos from Christmas Zone Conference

The Christmas Spirit

Hello!  Hope you are all enjoying this holiday season.  I can´t believe that next week is Christmas, 8 days until I get to speak with my family!  Woot! 

Our district (us hermanas and the two elders here in Santa Elena) are pretty excited for this Friday. I´ll explain why:

Last Sunday Hermana Franco and I held a family home evening at the Caceres´ home.  They are what they call one of the ¨pioneer¨ families here in the branch.  At the end of our lesson Hermana Caceres  said she had a dream the other night that her husband and two other men from the branch were building a pesebre (nativity) for the Church, and it reminded her of when the branch two years back did a live nativity scene.  Before she could say anymore, I said, ¨Hermana, do you want to have a Nativity Activity this Christmas?¨ and she smiled and we said ¨Let´s do it!¨  At that time there was some talk of a Christmas dinner, nothing more, and it wasn´t definite it would go through because some of the leaders were caught up in family affairs and traveling.. and I had been feeling anxious to do something together to help the branch feel the Christmas spirit, so we jumped on this idea as fast as we could!! 

We hurried back to the apartment and made a handful of phone calls, and the elders were pretty excited at the idea.  At our district meeting on Tuesday we worked out more details and decided to hold a meeting with everyone we needed on Saturday.  I was excited but also nervous because we didn´t have a lot of time, a lot of leaders are in and out of town this month, and I didn´t want the members to think we were going to take over and plan everything without them.  Saturday finally came and I was so pleasantly surprised with what I saw:  a YSA brought us into the secretary office and started to play Christmas videos he found during the week and said he wanted to (one of which is Christmas concert in Chile with a certain missionary who once upon a time was on a singing tv show back in the day... Yes, David Archuleta!  oh I died!  I´m not a big fan, but seeing him with his nametag and singing so beautifully in Spanish really got me.)  I had no idea that he was going to organize the media for the activity!  Yes! Still not everyone had arrived for the meeting, and I was getting a little worried, until I heard our branch president call our YSA friend to come outside.. and we followed... and we were suprised to find four members out by the palm trees discussing where they wanted to put the Nativity.. and all I could do was watch and listen and smile... everything is set and planned and they are all so excited about it!  I had no idea that in the past few days they had been talking and planning!! All we did was set a spark to the fire, and everyone is doing their part and it´s turning out to be a lot bigger than we expected!  We are inviting everyone and will be standing outside the gate inviting people right before it starts...  I´ll hopefully post pictures next week.  

I am so happy that we were able to help the members get excited and start collaborating, and it´s all taking a life on its own.  I am excited that this activity will help a lot of people remember the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Lord Savior Jesus Christ. The people here say that there are not many things this time of year centered on that, so we are going to have something for all of the pueblo!!  Woo!

I love you all so much, I wish I could talk to all of you at Christmas... but hey just in a few more months you´ll see me in person!  Weird!  I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!! 

 xoxo hermana hillary 

photos, long overdue!!!

little changes

Happy December!!  Time is really flying.

I am so lucky to be with my companion Hermana Franco!  She literally
stops to smells the roses, and then takes pictures of them.  We have
too many photos of beautiful sunsets here!  (sorry for the tease.. the
loading time for photos takes too long here)  haha and right now she
is singing jingle bells in english.  It´s in the small and simple
things that help us find a laugh or a beautiful moment.

We have been working really hard with some families and we are seeing
real progress!  It is an answer to our prayers.  I will be honest, it
had been a while since we had heard ¨I am coming to church tomorrow!¨
or ¨I love what I read yesterday!  I have some questions..¨  I have
been learning more and more about our purpose and we together as a
companionship are learning how to more effectively teach the
Restoration, and  I find it amusing that when we enchance something in
our work we have more eagerness and for some reason it´s when people
don´t happen to be progressing... but our little seeds we have planted
so long ago and finally starting to sprout!  We had a family in Church
yesterday and it made my day.  I can see that they are sincerely
progressing and didn´t come out of obligation or because they love us.
They came because they see a change in themselves thanks to reading
and praying together.

I´ve been thinking a lot of the little changes I am going through that
I may not even recognize to their fullest extent.  Nelson Mandela said
something like ¨there is nothing like returning to a place unchanged
to see the way you have changed yourself¨ ... so we´ll see how that
turns out when I come home...  but no!  Who is talking about home?  I
still have plenty of time!  Right?  Just the fact that the mission
secretary is booking my flight home already freaks me out... wait..
the mission ends?  Wait, you mean I have to leave Argentina one day?


I love you all.  Hope you are already thinking of the true reason for
this season, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

xoxo hermana hill mill

P.S Mark your calendars...
Arrival date: April 10th 2013.
Estimated date of normalizing socially: TBD 2013.

Mini Missionary

Hello!!  Hope you are all enjoying the end of November!  I can´t
believe I am already starting to think about what we will be doing to
celebrate Christmas here in Santa Elena.  I am excited!

I am now serving with a ¨mini¨ missionary, Hermana Franco.  A mini
missionary is a youth who is from the mission limits who serves with a
fulltime missionary to fill in a hole in the mission for a time being.
We are short a few hermanas, so we are constantly looking for a few
girls 18 and up who can help out the mission for six weeks.  Hermana
Franco is so great!!  I wish I could load up photos for you all but
our connection is way slow today.  She is from Santa Fe, the capital,
about 4 hours in bus from Santa Elena.  She is 18 and is the oldest of
8!

I have quickly realized that serving with a mini missionary is a very
grand opportunity for them to see if they really want to serve full
time for 18 months.  I admire these youth who come out without ANY MTC
experience and are thrown right into the work! I would be devastated!
So I am trying to do my best to give her a great impression of the
mission... and she seems to be doing great so far!!! Hermana Franco is
so relaxed and always laughing... so I think we make a good match : )
Our first day out was very rainy... she slipped and fell in the mud, I
was so worried she had bruised her leg badly and thought she was going
to think this was going to be the longest six weeks of her life, but
just as those thoughts flashed through my mind I saw her laughing the
biggest laugh, and she ended up using it as a metaphor in our lesson!
I am so grateful for her cheery attitude.. she has been helping me
think of creative things to do here before I end my mission.  She also
likes Boys II Men and Stevie Wonder. woot!

Things are coming along with new people we are teaching... we are
praying and hoping and praying that our new investigators will
progress.  In the last few weeks I have been blessed to see the Lord´s
hand guiding us to people who needed us in the moment, and we knew it
was right because the contacts told us ¨Ï was just praying in my room
and feeling horrible and then you came.¨  Wow.  Gives me the chills,
in a really good way!!

I want you all to know that coming closer to our Lord Jesus Christ is
the only real way we can receive the happiness and strength we need in
this life.  As a zone we have been focusing more on the Atonement in
our studies and are talking more and more about the Savior in our
teaching, and it is incredible.  I may be planting a lot of seeds
right now, but I can´t imagine doing anything else right now in my
life.  It truly is the best decision I have made in my life (yet) and
I hope the people we are teaching will be able to say that when they
begin to accept and live the gospel.

Love you all so much!

xoxo hermana hill mill

Happy Birthday Seester!!!

On the 25th is my sister Emily´s 20th birthday!  woot!  

Happy Birthday Emily!!  I just want to tell you how grateful I am to be your sister.  I have seen (well, read.. heard) in just this past year how much you have grown, and I am very proud of you!  You help me remember that in small and simple acts of service, one can help another have a better day.  You find such joy in serving in so many different and creative ways.   I love that you have developed a love for missionary work on your own, it didn´t come as a result from wearing a nametag for 18 months like it has for me, and that is truly inspiring.  The missionaries are lucky to have you help them out, and the other members with which you work are for sure benefiting from the light you shine in your testimony and  happy attitude!  Sos una capa!  Te quiero mucho!  Keep having lots of dance parties and learn all the newest moves (well, the good ones) so you can help me try to find my groove when I get back!  

Love you seester!  

And by the looks of the photos I received, she and our dear friend Autumn had a fun time celebrating in our backyard this past weekend.  To all my G7 friends,  thank you for taking care of my lil sis and for being such amazing friends!  I love you and miss you all so much. I tell all of my American companions and aquaintances in the mission that if they are looking to move to California that I know of a very good looking and fun bunch of people that they can hang out with if they ever find themselves in LA.  : ) 

Impressions

¡Hola! ¿Como andan todos?  Espero que ustedes esten bien : ) ¿Como fue su Halloween?

I can{t believe it is November!  The time is slipping away from me. We are working hard to find new people to teach, and all the while I keep thinking how important how testimonies are, even if the people don{t want to listen at first.  I started imaging what kind of impression we leave with the people we contact in the street.  I like to think how they are after closing their door and may  think to themselves, [huh, a living day prophet?  never heard of that before...  those girls were really friendly.[  Oh man, it is such a WIN see the change in people}s faces when at first they seem so closed off and maybe even a little bugged, and then after we chat with them to sincerely get to know them and smile like crazy and maybe give a few laughs to show them that we are normal people, and then after a few minutes they are the ones with a smile!  Sometimes I can{t help but think [Ha!  Victory!  You warmed up to us![ But we can only take a little smidge of the credit, because we are vessels holding the Spirit that helps them feel their Heavenly Father{s love.  There is so much to say in our body language and attitudes and how we can either invite or scare away the Spirit.  I have always thought it kind of amusing and just plain great when people in my life have asked me or my friends and family (and I{m sure this has happened to you too) [Why are you so happy all the time?[ or [there{s something different about you.[  Even though these people don{t realize it, they are seeing the light of Christ we carry.  It{s a beautiful thing to be able to leave impressions on people, and we don´t know the effects it can have on them!  We all have a light inside us, remember that.  Whether it be our words or simply our attitude and the light in our eyes, we can bear our testimonies in many ways of how to live the gospel, and people will want to live it to when they see us : ) 

Love you all!  xoxo hermana hill mill 

Beautiful Santa Elena!

Check out these sunset skies, aren´t they beautiful!!  I LOVE the

pueblo where I am serving.  This week Hermana Hutch and I found a new

neighborhood out in the middle of nowhere where the river meets the

end of the pueblo.  It was really fun looking at the vacation homes

and little camping grounds.  For a moment I felt like I was sight

seeing and was worried there weren´t any residents until we kept going

and going and found some hidden homes!  It was so cool, and it was

even cooler when we heard them say that they already had a Book of

Mormon and loved when the Elders had come!    Sweet!

Yesterday was mother´s day here, and so we ate lunch with one of the

recent converts whose children couldn´t come visit here this weekend.

Yes, that´s the elders through the window with food, at first we had

them eating outside and us inside with the table up against the window

at. It´s a long story, funny but too complicated to explain now.

Love you all!  Have a wonderful week!

xoxo hermana hill mill

Happy October!!!

Hello!!  Sorry I didn´t write last week.. but I am still here in Santa
Elena with Hermana Hutch and we are getting soaked with all this rain!
It is the most I have seen in my time here in Argentina, and I love
it because the humidty level decreases for a bit.

How about the exciting news for the missionary ages?!  I wasn´t in the
building when they announced it, but the Elders here told me that all
of the young single adult women who are 19 or 20 and have been eagerly
waiting to turn 21 all freaked out and the branch president wanted to
run around the building he was so stoked.  There are 6 girls who as of
now have already been interviewed and have done all of their medical
paper work.  THAT makes me so happy to see that enthusiasm and
eagerness to serve the Lord ASAP!  One hermana said that this is
definitely a sign of the latterdays.  The Lord needs to open up new
areas to gather Isreal faster!!  It is exciting.

I hope you all enjoyed conference.  It was my first time watching it
all in Spanish, and although I missed hearing the sweet and loving
voices of our beloved prophet and his apostles, I was touched by the
Spirit that the translators brought... some even choked up as they
spoke the words of these inspired men, it was pretty cool.

The work here seems to bring surprises every single week.  Although
these experiences are very personal to me, I will say that I am
receiving a stronger testimony every week of the power of sincerely
studying the Book of Mormon.  ¨True doctrine understood changes
behavior¨, but even when these people who are barely familiar with the
book and do not realize how true the doctrine is have changes in their
attitude, their perspective on their day, the peace in their home.  I
will never grow tire of the surprise and delight that people have when
they come and tell us ¨I feel so amazing the days that I read!!¨  The
Book of Mormon is much more than a record of an ancient people who
speak about the ways they strived to be obedient.  It is the word of
God that helps us know God, and know ourselves better, or better said
see the way God sees us.  I am constantly surprised by the things I am
discovering about myself, and I have to admit that I didn´t see or
understand much the power this book had on my life before the mission
until I became a missionary.  And I promise you that you don´t have to
be a missionary to see this power.  You can open up the Book of Mormon
with a prayer in your heart and you will find a phrase that will shed
light on what the Lord knows you need.

Love you all!  Do me a favor: go jump in a pile of leaves.  Drink hot
apple cider with pillsbury halloween sugar cookies.  Go visit a real
pumpkin patch and carve a pumpkin. Watch Hocus Pocus (bonus points if
done with my sister), tell scary stories that aren´t too scary in
front of Gravity Hill or the Haunted Forest in Pasadena... oh and most
importantly... dress up like a zombie with your friends and go scare
people in the street and dance the Thriller  (If you aren´t sure how
to be a good zombie, please refer to my darling mother for advice...
she knows her stuff. )  Happy October!


xoxo hermana hill mill

The Best Schooling For Life

Hello!!  As you can tell by my photos, we had a pretty fun time at the hermanas conference.  We felt like princesses for a few days to say the least.  Hermana Hutch and I were able to sleep one more night extra in the mission home because she had to do paperwork for her Visa the next morning, so we were spoiled with a few more hours with Hermana and President Giuliani.  I love them so much!! Hearing their words in the conference, cooking with la Hermana, and hearing them speak to us again yesterday at our district (like stake) conference really spoiled me.  I can{t write down all that I learned right now, and a lot of it includes really special spiritual insights of my own, but I will share one thing: 

Yesterday after the conference President Giuliani set apart a missionary that is leaving from Santa Elena.  His name is Jorge and he will be serving in Chile.  This now Elder is what here we would call a [capo[,  stud? capitan? a really amazing youth who has already been working miracles here in the missionary work.  The last words from him to me where [I have two more referrals for you, and these are for sure baptisms! Please visit them as soon as possible[  amazing!!  Well, President said a few words to his friends and family before setting him apart (giving him a blessing by the laying on of hands by the power of the priesthood which officially gives Jorge the power to share the gospel with the help of the Spirit.)  and his words really made me think about how the mission has changed me in this past almost 13 months.  He said that businessmen pay thousands of dollars to receive education and training in order to be able to run their own business, and people today pay thousands for therapy and counseling so they can fix family problems.  But the mission is the best schooling for life.  A missionary receives a maturity in all senses, socially, in spiritually, and in diligence.  

If you are feeling hesitant about serving a mission... please hear me out;  this is the best decision I have made in my life so far.  It is also the hardest time of my life, but is the BEST hard I could ever experience, because I have a closer proximity to the Spirit, a wider perspective of human life and our relationship with God... and this is not to say that all of my problems are solved and I am above everyone else because what I am doing is better than not serving a mission.  Nope, I am definitely more aware of my weaknesses, of which there are many, and I know that the mission may not be in the plan that the Lord has made for you.  But you should ask just to make sure.  I almost shrugged it off and didn{t ask, and it scares me to think of what my life would have been like if I hadn{t. 

And if a mission isn{t in the Lord{s plan for you (sisters), don{t ever for once think it is because you are inadequate or you didn{t make the cut.  It could mean that someone close in your life needs your testimony and your example.  It could mean that you are already ready for the next big adventure in your life, whether that be more schooling, marriage, or a job opportunity.  Whatever the Lord has in store for you, make sure you make it the best schooling you can.  Hermana Giuliani told us that the mission never ends.  After our 18 months we will take on other responsibilities, callings, and opportunities to spread the gospel.  It may sound a little overwhelming, but with the Lord{s strength we are unstoppable. 

Happy October!  

xoxo hermana miller 

Freeze Frame

Hello exclamation point 

 

The keyboard is a little funky, so I can´t express my enthusiasm, and it gave me a reality check of how often I use exlcamation points exclamation point

 

Well, this past week is one I will remember for sure.  Hermana Hutch and I attended a very spiritual and inspired zone meeting with the other missionaries that serve in La Paz, and it gave us a huge energy boost and new outlook on how we can be more diligent.  I am so grateful for the sincerity, prayers, and dedication from our zone leaders to help us remember our purpose in this work and to seize every day.  The mission slips before us, and I am SO glad that I have even more of a renewed energy than before, and I still have a big chunk of time left exclamation point

 

There were a lot of moments during this week where I had a little voice in me say ¨Take a look at what you are doing right now.  You are a missionary, and you have the Spirit to guide you where to go and what to say?  Isn´t that pretty incredible?? Remember this moment,  soak it up girl cuz it won´t come back.¨   Yup, that´s how the voice inside of me speaks... just fyi.

 

I took in my mind a mental picture, freeze frames of these moments:  teaching a man who is a slave to alcohol and recognized the light in the elders who found him in the past.  A new investigator who said ¨There are people out there who don´t understand that they need to be preparing for when the Lord comes again exclamation point ¨.  Watching my companion bear her testimony in perfect Spanish, with a pure and sincere love for our investigator and her family.  Watching that investigator and a member, her friend who is a convert of  2 years, watch the story of Joseph Smith and see tears in their eyes.  Her saying ¨Wow.  I feel.... so much peace...¨  and seeing the families in our branch excitedly gather together to have their photo taken for the Liahona... parenthesis I will let you know if we get in, it might be in the Argentina edition only... parenthesis

 

I realize I need to take more of these freeze frames, these mental pictures every day of my life. Even the hardest days have some sort of silver lining, they are sometimes harder to find but I know they are there.  It is a dangerous mindset to think, ¨well, I will start to do this after the mission¨ or after the month is over.  Every day is a new beginning. every day is beautiful, andevery effort is worth it.  You might be in the middle of a struggle that no one else can see.  You might think that it´s not worth it any more, that it´s not meant to be.  ¨Don´t cast away your confidence¨,  thank the Lord for the strength He has given you,  remember the spark you felt when you started the fight to reach your goal, and give yourself a moment to just sit back and hear that voice in side of you that is sayng ¨Take a look at what you are doing right now.  You are doing lots of great things, and the Lord is there to help you, isn´t that incredible?  Remember the good moments, soak it up.¨

 

xoxo hermana hillmill

Here I Am!

Hello!  My apologies for not writing last week..  but I am here in Santa Elena with already lots of experiences and miracles that I will remember for a very long time!  We can{t believe that we have already been here for about three weeks!

 

Last Monday for PDay we went to the river banks with the two elders in our branch to enjoy the sights, feel the breeze and just relax. We also shared one kilo of ice cream, I{ll let you use your imagination for those that are not sure how big that is : )   It was a great way to celebrate my one year mark!  Ah!  I{ve hit the point on the calendar where I am constantly thinking [a year ago I was here, and I was doing this... weird...[  Part of me feels like I have been a missionary forever andt that my life doesn{t exist at home... like it as all a dream, and the other part can{t believe it has flown by so fast.  I am trying to grasp every day and life it to the fullest.

 

I LOVE this branch!  The YSA{s continue to amaze me.  A few days ago I heard them talking about wanting to do a family home evening activity with the elders, and before we knew it it turned into a huge activity in the church building, fliers and cake and everything!  I love when an enthusiastic and youthful group takes an idea and really runs with it!  It is quite the treat when we constantly hear [I have a referral for you![ and they are legit referrals too.  We received a referral from an amazing soon to be missionary, and this friend of his is now our most promising investigators.  We{ve seen her four days in a row and she{s already come to a baptism and two church activities (this branch is filled with activities!!  woohoo!)  I loved seeing the members fellowship this strong single mom and her two children.  I realized the family home evening was perfect for her when I heard one of the youth share her testimony of when she gave a book of mormon to her catholic school teacher, and how her teacher ended up really feeling the Spirit and was worried about changing her culture after so many years, and this youth told her that she needn{t be afraid because the Lord would help her because it is true... and this is exactly what is happening to our investigator!  She teaches in a Catholic school and has already heard so much of the gospel and knows what she feels is true, and she is scared to leave her job.  I know the Lord is in this work and that all these sequences of events are not coincidences!  I know all of us can pray to see the Lord{s hand guiding us.  Sometimes we truck along thinking our efforts are thrown at the wall and we never break through, but if we have more patience and open our eyes, we can see that we are not the only ones chipping away.  The Lord is right there with us breaking away the hardest parts with us. 

 

I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week!  I miss you all tons, and I am trying to keep writing hand written letters... I am sorry I am behind!  The post seems to be very behind as well, just the other week I got a letter than was sent at the end of June!  Please know that every email and note is very much appreciated.  I love you very much and I hope you are finding success in your current endeavors. 

xoxo hermana hill

PS...Please feel free to leave Hillary a comment on these posts and we will forward it to her to read!!

 

So long, Farewell, Venado Tuerto

Hello!!  Today is a busy day.  I am saying goodbye to a lot of really special people, and I have less time than expected as I need to travel tonight instead of tomorrow morning.  It has been a wonderful five months here in Venado Tuerto.  It is interesting to think that I have only known these members, missionaries, and investigators for months but it feels like I have known them for years because of what we have experienced together.  

Changes are sometimes hard, but I know I am headed to a grand new adventure, in Santa Elena, La Paz, which is in a province named Entre Rios, north of the province Santa Fe which I have only known.  It is exciting yet a little bittersweet as I know without a doubt that there is no way I will be able to have another companion like Hermana Green.  She really knows how to enjoy every moment.  I felt like my days walking in the street were really listening to a stand up comedian, giving me free commentary on all the funny things that happen to us as missionaries.  I love her so much and I am anxious to see how she will grow, especially with her latina companion!!  

People come and go into our lives, and it´s amazing the impression they can leave on you.  I love how we come from so many different cultures and backgrounds, and yet we have one grand thing in common.. and that isn´t just that we know the gospel.. we are all in the race of life trying to find the best way to live it, and it´s been a privelige to be one of thousands of messangers who know holds the truth that can show these travelers where to go, how to get there, and how to keep living the best way we can. 

I love Venado Tuerto! I love the mission!  

xoxo hill 

Saying goodbye at the terminal as a zone to elder luna from mexico and elder artunduaga from colombia. the mission ends one day?  weird... 

Saying goodbye to the rivoira family, marcelo and his daughter florencia and son fede (he is our branch mission leader) and then maria and her kids (she is due in october)

  

Brilla Tu Luz

Hello friends and family!!  I hope you all are enjoying the end of your summer.  Here it has been very wonderful weather, it already feels like spring, which is starting to make everyone nervous about how hot the summer will be.  I am just grateful that the winter was not as bravo as everyone said it would.  I never bought a very heavy coat and we´ve only had a few cold fronts with a few cold days, so we´ve been pretty lucky. 

 

Right now a bunch of members from our branches are in Buenos Aires attending the temple open house.  They took a bus at 2am and arrived at around 7 and will be back this evening.  Yesterday I was so happy to hear our recent convert Isabel talk about how excited she was to go, it really is perfect timing after her baptism.  I told her it will past by fast, as all good things do, so she needs to just stop and look around and take it all in and remember the feeling forever, and then Hermana Solomon said ¨But it won´t be your only time you will go to the temple, you will go again one day!¨  And that made her even more excited.  I love that Isabel said she wanted to see the temple since the very first time she heard about it.  I am grateful that the members have been preparing for this special day and the following rededication which is to come, because I know it helped Isabel understand how essential it is in our lives as latter day saint families. 

 

Yesterday was the homecoming of a sister missionary, Aloe, the daughter of the other hermanas´ landlady.  She served in Mexico!  It was pretty cool to hear an Argentine speak with a slight Mexican accent and hear those great mexican phrases and words that I miss!!  Her mother told us that she is already missing the work and adjusting has been a little strange, and she said ¨One day you will know what that is like!¨ ha. 

 

The Branch President asked me to speak in sacrament meeting as well, and gave me the topic about shining our light.  Well that just so happens to me one of my favorite topics! : )   It was a beautiful Sunday, both the weather and the words that were expressed in the classes and meetings.  I am so fortunate to be part of this great work, to see the members work with us and share in the excitement of building up the Lord´s kingdom.

 

I hope you are all doing well!  Next week is transfers...  It may be the time for me to leave Venado Tuerto, I´ve been here for almost five months!  Crazy. 

 

Today is a holiday and we are going to an artesenal fair after this!  We´re stoked to say the least.  And it´s beautiful today as well.

 

I want to thank each of you for the impact you have made in my life.  I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family that I can have fun with, make memories with, learn with, grow with, and can rely on and admire.  I wish I could give some of the families here the friendships that I have at home.  Thank you for being a light in my life!  (cue corny music by lee ann rimes.. youuuuu light up myyyyy lifeeeee)

 

xoxo hermana hillmill

From zone conference this week.  We had an olympic activity, scripture chase!  Brought back good memories with Monrovia and Arcadia seminary : )

By Small and Simple Things

Hello!  Hope you all had a wonderful week, we sure did! 

Remember the family Hermana Green and I found two transfers ago?  Well Isabel, the mother, got baptized this weekend!!  When Hermana Solomon and Hermana Wilkinson came into the area we handed her off and they finished teaching her and helped her strengthen her testimony.  I have been so nostalgic and reflective this whole week, thinking of the progress Isabel has made, how she even before her baptism was attending all three hours of church and all the activities and already had formed some great friendships with the members, even though she was the only member in her family going.  She is a rock!!  I also kept thinking how we found her just by contacting, and from a small and simple act of work we were part of this woman´s journey in the gospel of Jesus Christ!  It was a really special chapter in our missions that all us four hermanas can share. It definitely pumped us up to full steam ahead with the hope that we can find more people who are ready, just like Isabel!!  

Our district is also going strong with lots of goals and challenges for each of the members to share a pass along card with one neighbor.  Every  branch has a referral box that a family is in charge of each week, inside ten candies are found and for every candy you take out you have to write down a referral and put it in the box.  I found it quite funny when the first family reported back that the father had to sit all the boys down and make them write down names after he discovered they had eaten all the candies.. maybe therin lies another lesson of discipline for the kids??  We were just happy with the results, referrals really is the key!  We love that more and more families are accompanying us to lessons.  The work is moving along!!  I love it even more when I can see the excitement coming from the members.  Once we can put aside our nerves of the thought of people rejecting or message or feeling we might me inadequate to talk about the gospel, we can remember that sometimes a small and simple invitation can lead to a life changed.You never know!! : ) 

By small and simple things, great things come to pass. 

I love you all.  Thank you for your letters!  Taylor Hoopes!!  Congrats on your engagement!! Holy cow your letter surpirsed me, I am way happy for you buddy!  

With love from Argentina 

xoxo hermana hillmill 

I love to see the Temple

Hello everyone!  My apologies for not writing lately... things have been moving along here and I had mostly been using my time on the computer to update my family.  We are fast approaching the day when the Buenos Aires temple will be rededicated, and everyone is getting very excited about it. It makes me so happy to see how the branch and district are full throttle in the goals to become a ward and a stake.  Our zone leaders have requested the branch presidents to call more branch missionaries and to have everyone give a pass along card to a friend or family this week.  My favorite challenge to youth is to have them publish a mormon message on their facebook... I think that is one of the best ways to grab our attention these days since we are always on the computer (well... YOU all are! ; )  I feel so out of touch with technology these days, you will definitely enjoy seeing my weak attempts try to text quickly again, HA! ) 

Well, I wish I could update you all on everything that is happening, but to make it short I will just say that the mission is like a mini-life . . . we are thrown into challenges that at first seem too big for us to handle, but when we take a moment to step back we remember that the Lord created us for greater things, and it is the trials that make us stronger.  I am blessed to have this knowledge, and it sometimes saddens me to watch others I come into contact with who do not understand this.  I am learning that the mission (and life) is full of surprises, to the point where if there isn´t some sort of challenge I am going through, I know I have been comfortable for too long and the Lord needs to shake things up!  (Hermana Gerratt taught me that : ) )  I definitely have grown to see the Lord´s hand guide me and comfort me when there have been discoveries of people we love choosing the wrong instead of choosing the right.  It is an interesting combination, feeling pain for someone but yet still holding onto the hope that ¨Sunday will always come.¨ 

 I am happier than ever here and I don´t want to leave this area, but one day that will have to happen!  It is such a privilege to be called a representative of Jesus Christ.  I know He lives and that this is His church, and that we have a living day prophet who can guide us and remind us that we are that we might have joy!  

I love you all so much.  I am sorry my letter writing has been a little delayed.. but I am working on it!  Thank you for thinking of me and spending the time to write.  FYI, there is a longer delay now in mail arriving as there was a long strike in the post offices this past month... so if you would like you can send me notes via dearelder , it´s free for you and free for the mission home to print them out, and there is no way they can get lost! 

dream big!  love you all! 

xoxo hermana miller 

Marissa and Anthony, congratulations on your wedding!!  My  mother sent me your photographs, you look shnazy!  Love you both and I am sorry I couldn´t be there!!

Hermana Giuliani included this in her weekly message today 

I Love It!!!

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