BEST WEEK EVER, I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
Can I just say, I love you all so very much. This week was magical thanks to all of you. It was my birthday this Friday and I have never felt so loved. Thank you. I can't even respond to all of you because of how many emails I got but THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Friday was one of the most special days of my life. I got over 50 emails, 30 letters, and 100 Facebook birthday wishes. I felt like I was on cloud 9.
My companions never passed up an opportunity to tell any stranger it was my birthday. We were on the road and they unrolled the window to tell a random stranger who then yelled "Happy birthday" as the light turned green. My mom ordered cheesecake--and New York cheesecake is the best. And my aunt sent me an amazing fruit bouquet! (Thank you, Aunt Michelle!) I've been eating treats for days. Long story short, I LOVE YOU ALL, and grateful doesn't cover it. :)) Thank you for making my birthday absolutely perfect.
Tuesday we had our last zone conference with President and Sister Teuscher. I love them so much and it hurts my heart that they are leaving. They have built me in so many ways and I will forever love them. As we took our departing pictures, Sister Teuscher whispered to me, "I love you and I'm so proud of you. You will always have a place in my home." I know she's saying the truth. New York will not be the same without them, and I'm forever grateful for my 'parents' here in New York.
This last week, Giancarlo decided he wanted to be baptized. And not just someday, but THIS WEEK. Please pray for Giancarlo as he prepares THIS WEEK for baptism. He is so ready. When I didn't get transferred last transfer, I wondered what else I had to offer Lynbrook.
I now know that God needed me here for Giancarlo. And I needed him. Giancarlo will be a friend until the day I die. (And get this, he's a wedding caterer. And yes, he said he'd do my wedding someday.) I love that guy. Forever.
Last week, we felt impressed to reach out to a family in the ward. To our knowledge, the whole family was baptized. When we went over to their house, we found out that the oldest child Joseph has not yet been baptized. As we spoke with him, he said that he wants to learn more about the gospel! He is SO cool. I know that God wants us to complete families and unite them through the covenant of baptism. I am excited to help Joseph feel God's love for him in the coming weeks.
ALSOOO I wanted to write about the little tender mercies of God. On Tuesday, we had an exchange with the Jamaica sisters. We realized we were dangerously low on gas as we were on our way to Jamaica to unexchange and I kept checking to see if we could make it to the church before we ran out of gas. And I decided to push it, because I was sure we would make it. The good news-- we DID! Honestly, such a tender mercy. But as soon as I picked my companions back up again, we knew we needed gas. We plugged it into the gps and it took us to the most run-down little gas station I've ever seen. So old that I couldn't pump my own gas. There was no credit card spot. A man came out, and he said: "I will help you with the gas." We quickly began talking with Mohammed. He is from India and loves America. He saw that we were church volunteers and started sharing his testimony of God. He said that we all worship the same God and that he wished that more people would believe in God. I felt strongly in that moment to share with him the Book of Mormon. So, as the gas is still filling up the tank, I pulled out a Book of Mormon from the car and explained my favorite thing in all of the gospel--that God loves His children in every corner of the world. I explained that just as he said, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. As I handed him a Book of Mormon and invited him to learn more, he reverently held the book. He looked at it humbly and said "thank you for bringing me more light than I had before." We then got his phone number to give to the Jamaica elders. He will be learning with them from now on. I am so grateful that God led us to get gas in a run-down little Jamaican gas station late at night. His hand really is in all things.
AH it was such a good week. This is my last week here in Lynbrook. This is my home. I will forever regard Lynbrook as holy ground. This is the place I found myself. I found my friends. I found hope. I found my Savior deep in my heart. I will never be the same--I am forever changed. God is good. Wherever I go, I know it is in His hands. His hands are the safest place to be.
For my spiritual thought, I just wanted to share a quote I found this week that truly touched me.
Rabbi David Backlock said, “God not only forgives our failures, he sees successes where no one else does, not even we ourselves. Only God can give us credit for angry words we did not speak, temptations we resisted, patience and gentleness that have been little noticed and long forgotten by those around us. Such good deeds are never wasted and not forgotten, because God gives them a measure of eternity.”
My companions never passed up an opportunity to tell any stranger it was my birthday. We were on the road and they unrolled the window to tell a random stranger who then yelled "Happy birthday" as the light turned green. My mom ordered cheesecake--and New York cheesecake is the best. And my aunt sent me an amazing fruit bouquet! (Thank you, Aunt Michelle!) I've been eating treats for days. Long story short, I LOVE YOU ALL, and grateful doesn't cover it. :)) Thank you for making my birthday absolutely perfect.
Tuesday we had our last zone conference with President and Sister Teuscher. I love them so much and it hurts my heart that they are leaving. They have built me in so many ways and I will forever love them. As we took our departing pictures, Sister Teuscher whispered to me, "I love you and I'm so proud of you. You will always have a place in my home." I know she's saying the truth. New York will not be the same without them, and I'm forever grateful for my 'parents' here in New York.
This last week, Giancarlo decided he wanted to be baptized. And not just someday, but THIS WEEK. Please pray for Giancarlo as he prepares THIS WEEK for baptism. He is so ready. When I didn't get transferred last transfer, I wondered what else I had to offer Lynbrook.
I now know that God needed me here for Giancarlo. And I needed him. Giancarlo will be a friend until the day I die. (And get this, he's a wedding caterer. And yes, he said he'd do my wedding someday.) I love that guy. Forever.
Last week, we felt impressed to reach out to a family in the ward. To our knowledge, the whole family was baptized. When we went over to their house, we found out that the oldest child Joseph has not yet been baptized. As we spoke with him, he said that he wants to learn more about the gospel! He is SO cool. I know that God wants us to complete families and unite them through the covenant of baptism. I am excited to help Joseph feel God's love for him in the coming weeks.
ALSOOO I wanted to write about the little tender mercies of God. On Tuesday, we had an exchange with the Jamaica sisters. We realized we were dangerously low on gas as we were on our way to Jamaica to unexchange and I kept checking to see if we could make it to the church before we ran out of gas. And I decided to push it, because I was sure we would make it. The good news-- we DID! Honestly, such a tender mercy. But as soon as I picked my companions back up again, we knew we needed gas. We plugged it into the gps and it took us to the most run-down little gas station I've ever seen. So old that I couldn't pump my own gas. There was no credit card spot. A man came out, and he said: "I will help you with the gas." We quickly began talking with Mohammed. He is from India and loves America. He saw that we were church volunteers and started sharing his testimony of God. He said that we all worship the same God and that he wished that more people would believe in God. I felt strongly in that moment to share with him the Book of Mormon. So, as the gas is still filling up the tank, I pulled out a Book of Mormon from the car and explained my favorite thing in all of the gospel--that God loves His children in every corner of the world. I explained that just as he said, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. As I handed him a Book of Mormon and invited him to learn more, he reverently held the book. He looked at it humbly and said "thank you for bringing me more light than I had before." We then got his phone number to give to the Jamaica elders. He will be learning with them from now on. I am so grateful that God led us to get gas in a run-down little Jamaican gas station late at night. His hand really is in all things.
AH it was such a good week. This is my last week here in Lynbrook. This is my home. I will forever regard Lynbrook as holy ground. This is the place I found myself. I found my friends. I found hope. I found my Savior deep in my heart. I will never be the same--I am forever changed. God is good. Wherever I go, I know it is in His hands. His hands are the safest place to be.
For my spiritual thought, I just wanted to share a quote I found this week that truly touched me.
Rabbi David Backlock said, “God not only forgives our failures, he sees successes where no one else does, not even we ourselves. Only God can give us credit for angry words we did not speak, temptations we resisted, patience and gentleness that have been little noticed and long forgotten by those around us. Such good deeds are never wasted and not forgotten, because God gives them a measure of eternity.”
Your good deeds are seen. I promise you that. Keep on truckin' my friends. Life is beautiful. Every, single, day.
The church is true.
Be happy. Be brave. Be smart.
Love, Sister Miller
Sister Hailey Miller
1) President & Sister Teuscher
2-4) best birthday ever
5) Giancarlo, our BFF
6) the globe!!
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