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