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