January 11...Better Than Christmas!!!

HEY ALL! I don't have a ton of time this week so I will keep this email brief. Please enjoy the highlights and know that I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. It is hard but it is good. 

HIGHLIGHTS:

Ladies and gentlemen, I have the best news in the history of ever! I will be going through the temple on JANUARY 11. I am looking forward to that day more than Christmas itself. When I received the news this week I literally cried because I can't wait to have the opportunity to make covenants with God. It is something I have been longing for since I received my call to serve a mission. Many prayers have been prayed for this one event. And, the cherry on top is that my parents will have the opportunity to fly out and go through with me. I am so excited!! AHHH! And if you haven't seen the Connecticut, Hartford temple--go Google it right now! It is breathtaking. Let the temple countdown begin!

In other news, I had my very first MLC (mission leadership council) this week!! It was so awesome and I learned so much. But my favorite part of it all was when I went on a walk with President and Sister Teuscher. Yes, you read that right. It was one of the coolest 15-minute experiences of my life. We took a break in the middle of MLC, and Sister Benefield and I somehow ended up on a walk with President and Sister Teuscher. We talked about all the coolest things from before their assignment to serve. I had forgotten they weren't just always the coolest missionaries. It was such a beautiful experience for me because the Lord was able to testify through them that the Lord is aware of me and He loves me dearly. It wasn't anything they said directly to me; it was just a feeling I had as I talked with them. I felt rejuvenated to go at missionary work all over again.

The rest of this week was both hard and good. The one thought I keep having is that the Lord really does run this work. With all the meetings and things I had going on this week, we didn't have much time to find. But as we dedicated ourselves to the Lord, He provided two people for us to find. Seriously, that is amazing!  It is His work, and He is the captain of the ship. I feel grateful to work on the helm and see Him guide us safely to where we need to be. 

My spiritual thought for the week comes from a talk by David A Baxter I was reading this week. Y'all should go read it. It is called "Overcoming Feelings of Inadequacy." In it, I found a quote I love that maybe each and every one of us should make our new mantra in life. It says, "The Savior invites improvement to encourage us in reaching our potential. The adversary deploys derision to discourage us with feelings of worthlessness. Satan “seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27).  He uses the circumstances of life to drag us down so that we think less of ourselves than we should. He would have us look at how far we have yet to travel and the challenges en route, in the desire that we might give up in a state of discouragement and hopelessness." I love that reminder. It reminds me of Elder Holland counseling us to "Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead..." (Jeffrey R. Holland) We can't let the adversary pull us off our route to heaven. We are doing better than we think we are. We have come so far. 

I love you all so much. Please continue to pray for Tierra, Antonina, Bianca, Briana, and our new friend Nashaly.

Let me know who I can pray for you!!

LOVE YOU ALL!

The church is true.

Be happy. Be brave. Be smart. & keep keeping on.

Love always,

Sister Miller

1-5) Museum Of Modern Art  (#1 is the real deal--starry night by Vincent van Gogh)
6) Rockefeller Center

7) Radio City Music Hall

8-10) Mission Leadership Council & Queens with Sister Benefield

11) With President and Sister Teuscher

12) And my experiences with the Laundromat 

HayBay,

I think stressing over Covid so we can go to Hawaii is driving me crazy. I can’t even imagine what I will be like when it’s time to go to Connecticut! I think I will be beside myself. I keep telling the kids, “I can handle missing Hawaii. I can’t handle missing Connecticut.”

I can’t wait for the vaccine!!! Seriously!

Some people don't want to get the vaccine. I totally don’t understand. I say—“sign me up! I’ll be first in line!”

Today we supported local businesses to light the world. My stomach now hurts. I supported too much.

Jake almost finished his Eagle stuff today. The final countdown is on. He should be done very soon.

We had originally planned to do our Covid test on Monday, but now because of winter storms we’ve decided to do it on Tuesday making sure we stay within the time frames Hawaii requires. That means it will be on my birthday. I’m going to have to try and make it fun regardless. A change in perspective for sure.

Jake just coughed and I said, “why did you just cough?”  I’m so ready to know what our results are and be done.

Well, not much has been going on. I’ve been preparing for Christmas, sending gifts and all things Christmas. I haven’t started packing yet. I want to be sure first.

I love you so much!!!

Talk to you in two days.
Love, Mom

By the way, grandma was so proud to have talked to you.

Hi Little Girl.

 

How are things this week?  Hopefully, you are feeling better this week than you were last week.  I know missionary work can be hard.  It can also be super rewarding, so keep your chin up.  Just keep chugging along.  The Lord will make up the difference.  I know you are doing great things.  It is really cool that you are an STL while only being in the field for five months.  Most impressive.  I was not a DL until I was out 18 months.  Not ZL until 20 months.  Leadership can also be challenging and rewarding, so keep your head up there as well.  Being a leader means sometimes you will step on a few toes.  Just keep following the spirit and you will be on the right track.  No matter who is mad at you or does not like you.  Your mom gets that sometimes, but you just have to be tough and keep going.

 

So on to the big news.  ManU crashed out of the champions league this week.  Pretty embarrassing.  They only need to get a draw from their last two games, both against teams they had already beaten.  They lost both.  Pretty pathetic.   In better news.  They did win in the Premier League last week and were able to get a draw against Manchester City yesterday.  So I guess it is a mixed bag.  United is up to 8^th in the league and ahead of City.  That is pretty good since they started so poorly in the league.

 

BYU won yesterday.  It was a good win.  It is too bad they lost last week or they might have been able to get to a big bowl.  Last week's game was pretty cool though.  Most people called it the game of the year.  BYU agreed to play another undefeated team with 2 days’ notice.  They are having a good season.

 

Not too much else is going around here.  COVID is nuts.  It is everywhere.  We are trying to hide from it, but who knows if we can.  There are so many crazy people around here.  I found it really frustrating to read the comments on Elder Renlund’s message about reopening the temples.  Too many members of the church have put politics ahead of the church.  It kind of reminds me of the early church, when people would get mad at Joseph over something little and leave the church.  The parable of the Wheat and the Tares is being fulfilled.  There are people in the church who are just in the church for convenience.  The separating has been going when our personal beliefs get challenged by the church, we have to remember the Savior is most important and we must follow him and the Apostles no matter what.  If we don’t, we will be separated from the church.  As Elder Ballard taught: “Stay in the boat!” 

 

We are helping Kaylin and her girls for Christmas.  We went to Costco and got some snow clothes and gloves.  We also got little girl Christmas dresses.  I think Mom and Amber were dying to have a reason to get those.  We also got a few toys.  Amber and I wrapped them last night while mom watched – wait for it—a Hallmark movie.   Actually Amber did most of the wrapping.  I helped some and round up boxes. 

 

I saw that you got some Merry Christmas stuff.  If you are not to the twelve days of Christmas yet, open Day 2. It is ok if it is early, it will help you stay warm. 

 

Well, love you lots.  Have fun.  Be Good. In fact, “Hailey Miller, YOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU BEEEEEE GOOOOOOOOOOD!  This is my blow horn.”

 

Love, Dad