Talk to Everyone

Wow. What a week in Brooklyn. 

I don't know where to begin...
 

This week started off with Zone Conference in Woodside. We had an hour and a half subway ride to Queens and so Sister Patterson and I got on the subway and began talking with people. We talked with so many cool people, it was rejuvenating. I was even able to teach the whole Restoration, right there in the middle of a jam-packed subway car. As I spoke of Joseph Smith and the first vision, I felt overcome with the spirit. I looked into the eyes of my new friend, Ashraf, and bore a simple testimony that I know to be true--God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, proving that God does speak to His children. I was able to get his number and set a return appointment. How grateful I am for sacred places in the midst of the tumult of New York City. 

Zone Conference was wonderful. We felt the spirit so strongly. President bore his testimony of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought of all He has done for me. I love my Savior. 

With the spirit strong in our minds and hearts, we boarded the subway with a determination to talk with EVERYONE. So we did just that. We got 15 numbers on that ride back. We testified of the Book of Mormon. I could feel angels behind me. It was beautiful. I got laughed at and ridiculed, but it did not deter me one bit--I felt the Lord fulfill His promise to "go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." To be honest, I felt like I was floating--it was an incredible experience to literally be His emissary in every way. 

This week, we met our new friend, Rushelle. We taught her about the Restoration and she just started beaming as we told her of Joseph Smith! I began reading from the introduction of the Book of Mormon, the last 2 paragraphs when she interrupted me. "Stop," she said. "Please say it again." She closed her eyes and lifted her face heavenward. Her whole body seemed to fill with light as I repeated the paragraphs. "I felt it," she said. "I felt Jesus here as you said those words." A warm tingling rushed from the top of my head down to my toes as she talked of her experience--it was a witness to me of a truth that I already know, deep in my bones. God really did restore His church on the earth. Joseph Smith was a prophet. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. Oh, how I love Rushelle. Please pray for her, she has been going through a rough few days. 

Our main man, Pedrin, is getting baptized this Wednesday. He is so ready. We went over the Word of Wisdom this week and he said, "So if someone asks me to go to coffee, I can just say, no thank you--I'll have herbal tea instead!" We got a good chuckle out of that one. This man is so precious. He studies the hymns so that he is ready to sing them. It is miraculous. Found only 3 weeks ago, and making a promise with God this week. The Lord is preparing many to receive His gospel. We sure love him. 

In other news, we finally got moved into our new apartment. We are in the heart of Flatbush. I fall asleep to Latino music and sirens all night and I'm not complaining one bit. It's not quite as loud as East Harlem, but it is a good start haha. We have been talking with everyone and seeing miracles. Brooklyn is THE place to be!! Sister Patterson flies out to Thailand this week and I'll be getting Sister Sadler as my new companion! How exciting. 

For my spiritual thought, I wanted to share a real story from this week. On Friday this week, I woke up feeling just empty inside. I couldn't figure out why I felt that way. I pondered and prayed, but nothing seemed to fix it. It was then that I turned to a verse I've read a million times. It was a verse describing when Jesus came to the Americas--3 Nephi 11: 14 reads, "Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world." 

Jesus Christ appears, and one of His first invitations is to come and FEEL the marks of His infinite love. So they come "ONE BY ONE." This process would take hours. Thousands were gathered. This didn't make logistical sense. Yet, He wanted them to have this experience forever printed in their minds as a reminder of His love. To the teenage girl who feels alone, to the young boy who feels out of place, to the widow, to the jobless father, to the overwhelmed and under-qualified, He invited them to come and feel. In so doing, He helped them see what their worth was to our Heavenly Father: infinite. 

I can only imagine such an experience. 

As I read this verse on Friday, I just felt the reassurance of my Savior. I'm loved, as I am, for who I am. I am needed. I'm His. 

We all are. 

The gospel is true. I love you, and so does God. 

Be happy. Be brave. Be smart. 

Love,

Sister Miller