THE PROPOSAL

To continue on with the last post... THIS is the rest of the story..

We went up to Billings so he could meet the rest of my family.. well my two brothers and dad... intimidating right? Poor guy. AND to make matters worse, we booked our flights at separate times and he could only get one that arrived there 2 hours before me. It was like I was throwing him out to the dogs! Once he arrived there and my mom and dad picked him up, he sent me a quick text telling me that my dad had greeted him in hunting clothes and with a gun (as if just meeting him wasn't scary enough! But a gun!? Really Dad?!) So that night we just played games and hung out. I would bet that by this time Dayne was still breathing irregularly because of the nerves!

The next night Dayne spent most of the day helping me dad with yard work and playing games with my brothers. I was inside watching the BYU football game when I noticed Dayne and my dad was outside by themselves... talking... I wasn't real sure if that was a good thing or not! Next thing I know they walk in and tell us to turn off the game and that he had a song for us to listen to. He put on the song "Stealing Cinderella", which talks about how he remembers his little girl playing in the sprinklers and dressing up, and how this guy was now coming to ask for my daughters hand, to her you might be prince charming but to me your just some guy stealing Cinderella. It was pretty dang cute and REAL tear-jerk-er! By the end of the song I'm in tears, my moms in tears and I would like to think everyone else was too (just to make myself feel better I think, I doubt they really were). So Dayne then grabs my hand and asks me to go on a walk with him. We head out the door and I head out to the sidewalk, but he v lines for my dads truck. (Fishy clue #1). He tells me we were going to go on a drive instead! So we're driving (obviously towards the temple) and he's telling me he "has no idea where to drive" (Riiiiight. Fishy clue #2). We arrive at surprise, the temple, and start walking around the temple grounds. I put my arm around his waist and as I did I felt a box in his pocket (Fishy clue #3). He then walks awkwardly making sure our hips don't bump in each other again! We finally reach a bench where we sit down. He began to tell me how much he loved me, and well all these sweet things. It started getting cold so he said well before we go... and that's when he slid off the bench onto one knee and asked me to marry him! I of course exclaimed YES! and kissed.. kissed... and kissed some more :) Remember? He's a dang good kisser! Then we headed back to celebrate with my family.

When we arrived back in Utah, I was off to the races trying to plan a wedding in T-2 Months... AND do school. It wasn't the smartest move in my life but I cut my school load to part-time and make it work. I think the hardest part was having my mom up in Billings while I was down here in Draper and trying to plan everything over the phone.

So we had our wedding reception the night before the sealing that way the next day could be purely focused on the temple... and leaving for the honeymoon of course! We had the reception at the stake center in Draper. Dayne's aunt decorates for weddings so she did the whole thing for us, it was beautiful! It was just great to be able to have everyone there to celebrate our wedding with us!

We got married in the Salt Lake City Temple on October 28th, 2011. It was... indescribably amazing. We then went back to Draper where we had a luncheon for those who went to the sealing. It was great to be able to have all my close friends and family there with us!

Dayne's family is pretty massive so we had a heck of a time trying to get everyone organized for pictures! Luckily I wasn't worrying about it too much... I tried to keep my cool :) Some of those pictures will be posted later though.

After the luncheon we rushed off the Wolf Creek to spend the weekend since we both had to be back at school on Monday. Wolf creek was great! The condo we stayed at was pretty nice. We played lots of board games, went to the jacuzzi, and watched some movies. It was a relaxing and FUN weekend!

Well, I think that catches everyone up for the most part! Few.. there was a lot to catch up one. Now you'll be able to hear about my cooking mess-ups whatever other corky things I do these days.

Stay tuned!

5 Month Recap

-Return honorably from mission. CHECK!
-Get a BYU Provo experience. CHECK!
-Get married. CHECK!

So a lot has changed... to say the least. One minute I'm going up to campus to take my puny 2 classes, and the next minute WAHMO! I'M MARRIED! I'm not real sure where the last 5 months went, but what I do know is that I was on cloud 9.

So to catch everyone up, yes I'm married. Here's a little recap of the last 5 months... Alright so to tell you about Dayne. Mary (my old roommate) invited me to come with her to dinner with her husbands family. Well I did, and WAHLAH- thats when I met Dayne. Dayne is Mary's brother in law. That was in the end of June, the first weekend of the summer term. When I first met him I thought he was cute, but we really didn't say two words to each other, I take that back, we might have said hello and good to meet you! haha he was kinda shy.. and when I say kinda, I mean REALLY shy haha which of course makes him even cuter!

Alright so the very next weekend Mary asked me to come to their house again for a 4th of July thing with the family... the ENTIRE extended family! Or atleast most of them. That night was the first time we actually talked... and want to know what we talked about? HIS OTHER LADY FRIENDS THAT HE LIKED/DATED! what was he thinking!?!? Im still trying to figure that out! He says he is still trying to figure that out too. Haha whatever. But it definitely made me cautious about dating him.

So anyways, he got my number that night and we talked for 4 hours on the phone... and the next night... and the next, and on average 2-3 hours every day since (well until we got married :D Alright I'm going to cut to the chase. We went on our first date two weeks later. But we talked for those entire two weeks and so by the time we went on an "official" date, it seemed like it might have been our 2nd or 3rd date. So we were so comfortable (scratch that, i think I was the only one comfortable..)

we held hands, and I'm pretty sure he peed his pants a little. Hahah it was hilarious! and soo fun. Alright so a week and a half later, I was up hanging out with Mary (and dayne), and we were just staying up talking. Eventually he walked me over to Mary's place where I was staying the night. Well, we talked for awhile on the doorstep, and then.....................WE KISSED! Holy cow! Let me back up and say he's never had a girlfriend, let alone kiss anyone! Which makes what I'm going to say next even more unbelievable... he is a dang good kisser! Alright so a week or two after that we went on another date to Lagoon, and on the skycoaster (its like a ski lift that goes across the park) he told me he loved me! Aww. How romantic! So after that we started talking about marriage and shopping for rings :)

To be continued...

Tying things together

So I'm home from my mission and going to school at BYU in Provo. I'm not sure how I feel about being done with my mission, I miss everything about San Diego. I miss the clear mind I got while running in the cool morning air. I miss studying the scriptures for an hour every morning. I miss starting the day at the Battalion and hearing the first tour start. I miss sharing my testimony on a multiple times a day basis. I miss stopping people on the sidewalk and talking about the gospel. I miss gathering with other missarionaries in a zone conference. I miss setting up chairs for baptistmal service. I just miss it... all the time.
Although I miss it.... ALOT... I know I'm suppose to be here. I can feel a confirmation of that every time I walk to and from class. So as I'm here embarking on this new chapter, my goal and focus is to tie everything together. So here I go...

Kim’s last e-mail from the mission field- She’s flying home on April 12th!

Good morning everyone!!

  This week has been such a GREAT week! I've been able to witness miracles all around us. As I've told some of you before.. we've just been SOO BUSY!! Busy doing productive things, not just busy work. I hate it and love it at the same time! I hate being stressed, but I wouldn't want it any other way. As things are coming to an end, there's certainly no "winding down" going on! It's awesome! Things are going so great! There has been no time to sit back and relax... physically, spiritually, or emotionally! (including meal time.. forget about that!) The last few days I've been waking up 5:00 or earlier just thinking about all the MANY things I have/want to do before..... you know what.. I just want to make sure we are scheduling our appts so precisely so that we can see as many people as we possibly can! Really, I can't complain about waking up early, because I've been using that time to practice or do role play in my head for the investigators we'll see that day and what we'll teach them. Haha soo really, it's a good thing!
  The area is really doing so great! God has blessed us to find those who are prepared and earnest in heart. However, 4 out of the 8 people we are teaching right now are getting baptized this weekend! So I've been thinking a lot about finding more of our brothers and sisters so that the work can continue to hasten. I've realized something... "Finding" new investigators, means you are searching for something (or someone) that is lost! Such as, when you're searching for a lost shoe to the pair you want to wear! You look EVERYWHERE imaginable in attempt to find it, including places you might not think it could be. It's become more like a game to me... I'm am out to FIND those that are prepared! This is fun stuff! Ya know, I love missionary work. 

   Ester is such a sweetheart. I love her so much! This last week she's been having a hard time with some other personal things going on in her life. I mentioned the option of receiving a priesthood blessing, and after explaining what it is, she agreed. I asked her right then or later that weekend? And she told me to choose. So I asked her, why wait to receive blessings from God? So she received a blessing from Elder Thomas who was on shift at the Mormon battalion historic site (that's where our appt with her was going to be). Later on in the appointment, we got on the topic of baptism (she was working towards the 23rd). She told us that through prayer, she has found out that the Book of Mormon is true! So we again talk about, why wait to do something if it wont do anything but bring blessings? So after a few days of her thinking and praying about it, she's decided to get baptized this Sunday!! I'm so excited for her! I just know that this will bless her life soo much, and not just with what she is dealing with right now.. but for, eternity! I love that question.. why wait? It's like everything else... why wait to read your scriptures, or pray, or go to the temple, or spend time with family, why wait if its something that will bring joy and happiness? Do it now. 

   So we went on the Spanish blitz the other day (I know you're all wondering how that went, considering I don't speak Spanish!) well, it was way good!! Sister Smith and I split so we were both with a Spanish sister, and Sister Lee and I witnessed miracles!! We were able to find some potential investigators as we were just out walking to appts and visiting former investigators. It's funny how when you tell the Lord you will be somewhere and sometime, He will place the prepared in your path... and its your responsibility to walk over and talk to them, or just stop and talk to them... if we do our part, He'll do his. It's like keeping commandments, if we are faithful and just do it (when we don't completely understand why) He will be able to bless us! When we don't, he can't!

    Anyways, needless to say, this week has been a GREAT week! And I know this week will be great as well. Thank you for all your letters and emails of support and encouragement. This has been a GREAT 1 1/2 years! I love you all so much! Take care, and I hope you have a GREAT week!

Love,

Sister Miller

Good morning!! It's a BEAUTIFUL DAY!! I hope you are all having a great day as well :) This last week has been probably the craziest week of my mission.. here's what happened..

    Tuesday we were informed I would be getting my greeny on Thursday and we had clean checks on Saturday for both of our apartments so we basically spent the day running around cleaning like crazy! We had to clean the Helix apartment and the Spring Valley apartment, it was so.. much.. fun :D I think I actually like cleaning now which is weird for my siblings to hear that-- I've changed ok! No more just shoving it under my bed or in my closet! The apartments are spotless, which has made a huge difference in the spirit that is there. To have things in order and clean really does effect the spirit felt!

    I have my new companion now! I was told Thursday morning that I needed to change back into proselyting clothes (I was all set and ready for the Mobatt!) and head off to the airport to pick up my new sister! Her name is Sister Smith and she is from Highland, Utah. She's a sweet girl and has a great desire to share the gospel! It's been a little bit of a struggle and slightly chaotic to make sure she knows everything she needs to about the Mormon Battalion, and our area, and about missionary work in general. President has asked me to cover the typical first 6 weeks of the pilot in these next 2 weeks. Which means we cover a weeks worth of material in 2 days. It sounds a little crazy and unrealistic but so far it's worked out! I now have a better understanding of the scripture in 1 Nephi 3:7 and how the Lord will prepare a way for us to accomplish the thing which is commanded. I'm sooo incredibly grateful for that promise! Because I KNOW that I could not do this without Him. But He has answered my prayers and somehow, everything is working out :)

    Sheila was baptized on Saturday! It was such a great service! A recent convert bore a powerful testimony of baptism and the Holy Ghost, it was simple, humble, but soo powerful! I was able to give my testimony while Sheila was changing and it felt so good to share what I know and to share my feelings about the restored gospel. It was such a GREAT experience... I definitely did NOT keep my cool.. I was cryin' like a little baby! Haha ok not that bad, but there were tears all around. The spirit was strong.

I'm sad I'm not serving in that ward anymore, those few weeks were soo good, I loved it!! Sad to leave, but it's definitely nice to have a little more time in Helix ward where there is a lot to be done!

    Chelsea and Amanda are doing so gooood! They are reading the scriptures on a regular basis and are just trying to understand everything. They are both praying still to know if it's really true. They are the sweetest girls ever, definitely lifelong friends! In these last few weeks that we've been teaching them, I'm able to see the difference in their countenance already... they just look happier!

    Ester is another girl we are teaching, she's been through a lot! But she is reaching out to God for strength through the trials and challenges she's had. I can't even fathom finding enough strength and courage from any where else for what she is dealing with! I love her so much. Please keep her in your prayers.. well actually ALL of these people! They are all SOO GREAT! I love them all so much!

    I just love missionary work, this has been the greatest time of my life! My testimony has deepened and I have a greater understanding of the gospel, and our relationship with our Father and Savior, and I have a better understanding of my purpose here on Earth. I'm soo grateful for this opportunity to be here :) I just love helping everyone! I love everyone. Haha ok, I should get going. I hope you all have a wonderful week, I love you all so much! You're in my prayers.

Love,

Sister Miller

Good Morning everyone!!

    It's been such a GREAT week! There are so many good things going on, it leaves me hardly any time to process and let the joy of all this sink in. It's just amazing to see how the Lord continues to work with his children, even when we don't have enough time to do so. We have been so blessed with finding our brothers and sisters who are prepared in the short time that we have in the area. Sacrifices truly do bring forth blessings of heaven. There are a couple of baptisms going on this week- one of those includes a WEDDING the day of the baptism!! Alright, let me back up..

    Sheila is getting baptized this Saturday :) It has been yet another trying week for her though. Sunday morning her 4 boys who range from 17-4 woke up with pink eye which kept all of them from going to church. She called us and discussed the program for her baptism of which she is still going strong preparing for! She has great faith and nothing is slowing her down. She often makes comments about how she can't believe the Lord didn't she her this church long ago. It's funny how whether you are a long time member of the church, or a short time convert, or not even interested in the church... we get into a funk where we feel "all is well", we become content with the routine we are in and rarely do we bother to lift our eyes higher and reach for a greater sense of spirituality. I feel like I have to keep reminding myself, and others, how we are on a treadmill and we are either going forward or backward... there's no standing still. And the things that will keep us going forward are actively engaging ourselves in church, having personal study, and always praying to our Father.

    Mike is doing sooo good! Him and his son Dillon are preparing to be baptized Saturday too! But first, Saturday MORNING him and Kelly are getting married! YAYYYY!! I'm so excited for them! I'm so grateful that I've been able to meet with them and help them understand Gods will for them. I know that by them getting married and then the two being baptized, that it will bless their lives forever and help them make the changes that are necessary for them to be in line with Christ's teachings. I'm SO happy for them! Gosh, I just can't describe how thankful I am that I've been able to serve in a family ward for not even 3 weeks and be able to help a family take that step towards becoming an eternal family.

    Chelsea, Amanda, and Kenny are also doing pretty good! They are all just trying to find out if it's really true or not. So for now, we are helping them to receive an answer to their prayers. I just KNOW that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ will help them so much. I am thankful that no matter what stage of life we are in, or what challenges we may be facing... the restored gospel will help us. It really does help us improve the quality of life. And all we need to do to find out if it's true, or to keep our testimony strong is to pray, read, come to church and try the experiment of keeping the commandments... and see if it doesn't bless our lives.

   Tonight we are doing a blitz for the Helix ward with our district, I've mapped out a rout for each companionship and we'll be visiting former investigator, potential investigators and less-actives, hopefully we'll find a lot of people home and interested in learning and accepting the restored gospel!

   Some other things that are going on in this coming week is drum roll please.... IM GETTING MY NEW COMPANION!! President called yesterday to tell me she'll be arriving Thursday morning and that I need to meet them at the Mormon Battalion to do some orientation and work out the details of what's going to happen with really only having 3 weeks left of the transfer. Her name is Sister Smith (this will be the 3rd Sister Smith serving at the Mobatt) and I really don't know anything about her, so I guess I'll let you know more next week :)  I've just really LOVED these last few weeks with Sister Pelfrey and Sister Poulson, they are so great! It has been a great opportunity to finally teach a FAMILY. And to end these last few weeks that I've had in the Spring Valley ward, we have one wedding and 3 baptisms!! I'm grateful for this opportunity. I'm sure these next few weeks will be great too with Sister Smith! I'm excited to meet her :)

    Well, that's it for now.. I hope you all have a GREAT week and I love you sooo much! You're in my prayers! And don't forget, this church is TRUE :D
Love,

Sister Miller

Hello everyone!!

   This week has been such a GOOD week! To say we've been busy is an understatement! It's spring break in Utah and Arizona... which means that that Mormon Battalion Historic Site has been a little hectic! But I LOVE IT!! I take a tour through, show them the outdoor activities, and back to the front I go to take the next tour! It's so fun! Apparently it's the place to be :) I'm excited for you to come check it out.... it's a "MUST SEE" in San Diego! So don't you even think about passing through San Diego without wandering on through here, you'll love it!

   Time changes has thrown us for a loop... going out for a run in the mornings is a little bit harder when the sun hasn't even peeked over the mountain, takes a little more self motivation and discipline. But it's nice to have that morning run, and hey the benefit is that we get to see the beautiful sunrise! At our appointment last night with Mike we were talking had a little small talk about the time change and how it's effected his kindergarten kids that he teaches, he said it usually takes them 2 weeks to adjust.... it better not take 2 weeks for us! We have to get to it and get things done, no time for being tired and groggy.

   The pilot is interesting. At transfers I was told I would do the 2nd round of the pilot with my new companion... but since she's not getting here until the end of the month, I've jumped into the middle of the first round of the pilot with Sister Poulson and Pelfrey. This new program for training new missionaries is INCREDIBLE! These new missionaries come out and are caught right up to the speed of missionaries that have been out for 6 mo. or even a year. The missionary work is hastening all around the world, and this is how the brethren are hastening the process of training new missionaries... and it's working! These new missionaries are FABULOUS, you would never know they were a greeny and only out a month. It has made a major difference in the effectiveness of new missionaries.

    This last weekend we were scheduled to see Sheila and unfortunately she had an emergency with her little boy and had to miss our appointment. However, we were able to talk on the phone with her later and plan her baptism program! Yayy! She is a rock. Her little boys are giving her trouble for doing this, it's sad to see, but she's in my prayers every day!, but she has incredible faith to do what's right despite the trials that may come and that have come ever since she's began learning more.. she's given up everything, and she is a hero in my eyes.

    Since Sheila wasn't home we decided to walk a few blocks to a former investigator, which turned out to be a GREAT decision! We met so many people who were prepared and interested in learning more. We were able to set up 2 return appointments and receive 2 potentials for other missionaries in that area. It strengthened my testimony that everything happens for a reason and that the Lord is preparing His children to receive the truth and he is placing us so we cross paths.... and we must talk to EVERYONE.

     I am SOO grateful for this opportunity to serve, it has strengthened my testimony, changed my perspective, helped me understand more of Gods truth and will... and has changed my life. This has been the best time of my life, and I am thankful for every minute that I have to be here! True and pure happiness comes when sharing the gospel, pray and look for the opportunities around you, and then open your mouth... our Father will give you the words to speak. I pray that we will all strive to be more effective tools in His hands. Or better yet, be His hands.

     I love you all and I hope you have a great week!! You're in my prayers :)

Love,

Sister Miller

Hello everyone!

   This has been such an adventurous week and I wish I had all day to write about it, BUT I have 5 minutes so here we go..

   This week for transfers I found out that my companion got held up at the MTC, she had to get some knee surgery and will arrive here in 3 weeks or so. Until then, I've moved in with Sister Poulson (my MTC companion) and Sister Pelfrey (this is her second transfer)- they are my new companions and are such GREAT missionaries! We are covering both Spring Valley family ward, and Helix YSA ward- plus serving at the battalion, plus starting yet another pilot program that takes an extra hour of studies. If you do the math, that means we study 8-11, go to area and have MAYBE 3 appoints (1 in SV 2 in HX or other way around) and head to the historic site... yeah, not a lot of time! We are running from place to place and we are going to set up splits for this week and see if we are able to cover more places in the same amount of time. So we will have 1 sister from either ward come out with one of us and split up that way to cover more appointments. It has been a struggle, but a great opportunity to rely a little more on our Savior and Heavenly Father to help us!!

    We found an amazingly prepared woman, her name is Sheila and she is incredible! Her sister was baptized Mormon not too long ago and Sheila has had her share of trials these last few years. Long story short, she came to church 2 Sundays ago, received a Book of Mormon, read to Alma in 2 days and is now scheduled to be baptized on March 26th. She is such a great example of putting everything aside and following our the example of Jesus Christ. Her life is literally being flipped upside down with this new change, she's hanging strong to the truth and her faith to get her through it.

    We are teaching another man who is together with a less-active member. Last night we taught him about the atonement and how we are all able to be forgiven despite ANY mistake we may have made... it was a powerful lesson and the spirit was incredibly strong... this appointment was one of the most powerful ones of my mission, I wish I had more time to tell you about it :/ Lets just say, God is really helping us have more powerful lessons and even more productive with having even lesser time... He sure is a creator of miracles.

  Oh my goodness, I have to go!! Time is up! Mann I can't even bare testimony :( just know I love you and I love this church... it is THE true church.

Love,

Sister Miller

Hey everyone!
  What a great week we had, a little stressful but great! Sister
Stott got on her plane this morning and is probably arriving in SLC
anytime now... it's weird to have her gone. I don't think it's hit me.
I'm spending the day with some other sisters and then tomorrow morning
is the transfers meeting to find out who my new companion is! So
you'll find out next week :) ohhh the suspense. Sister Stott and I had
a great last week together! Our days were full of laughter,
appointments, and picture taking (that's weird to think she could be
reading this on my blog). Anyways...
  Brandon was confirmed on Sunday! He was so excited, just beaming!
Our bishop confirmed him and gave a beautiful blessing. He's been
doing really good I think, we had a lesson on the temple and he is
anxious to get a temple recommend and enter the House of the Lord.
He's been going to all the activities and just having a great time!
It's incredible to see him smile and see how the gospel has truly
transformed his entire being. He is a great example to everyone who
knows him of truly putting his trust and faith in the Lord to receive
the blessings his stands in need of. He is aware of his weaknesses,
and he knows he is in need of the Lord help, a very humble follower of
our Savior... I'm definitely benefiting from his great example. Its
funny how we teach people, but in turn, we learn so much more than we
think we ever could!
  Besides these wonderful things that are going on for Brandon, our
other investigators are really struggling... and what I mean by
struggling is, they've stopped progressing and even working towards
finding the true church, it's as though they just don't care anymore.
SO this means we are on the search for those that God has prepared, I
know they are out there, and with the Lords help, I'm going to find
them!
  At an appointment we had with a member who has been struggling to
stay active in the church, we shared a spiritual thought of a story in
the Book of Mormon. We shared how Moroni fortified the land. Moroni
caused there to be ditches dug, walls built up, towers erected and
all other forms of defense to be built, in attempt to fortify
themselves against the attack from the enemy. While reading it, it
seems like just a great story of a wise man trying to protect his
people, but this story can be so much more than that. We must all
fortify ourselves. On a daily basis we must work to dig the ditches a
little deeper, the walls a little higher and the towers more alert. We
are being attacked by negative things every day- multiple times a day.
We fortify ourselves by studying and treasuring up the word of the
Lord in the scriptures, communicating with our Father in Heaven, and
attending our church activities. I testify, we will find strength in
these things, and it will cause a deeper desire within us to do what
is right.
  I love you all so much! You are all in my prayers, and I hope you
will have a great week! Take care, and remember to fortify yourself
for when the wind blows :)
Love,
Sister Miller

Hello everyone!!

    Wow it's been another GREAT week! We had Zone Conference last Wednesday and President just blew us away! I'm soo lucky to have him as my mission president. Speaking of mission president, the new mission president was announced and in case you didn't hear. The new president will be President Clayton (I don't remember his first name :/) apparently he is the nephew of M. Russell Ballard and a spiritual giant as well. He'll arrive here in July at which time President Donaldson will be released. In the Zone Conference though we discussed the "8 Fundamentals" and how we are starting a new pilot where we will spend an extra 30 mins in the morning studying 1 of the 8 fundaments for the week, so it will be an 8 week program. The 8 Fundamentals are: Our missionary purpose- the Doctrine, teach people not lessons, revelation through church, revelation through prayer, revelation through scripture reading, role of the Holy Ghost, how to begin teaching, and we invite- they commit- we follow up. So by the end of these 7 weeks left, I'll have the fundamentals down... just in time to end my mission :/ But so far I've really loved studying these fundamentals, it allows us to bridge everything that we've learned and be more effective teachers.

    So we met Brandon at the historic site last Thursday and he LOVED it! He was just in awe the entire time. Literally like a child in a candy shop, it was awesome! In the tour he commented on how we can't go to war without our sword (referring to the importance of the Book of Mormon!) Just stayed at the historic site for 2 1/2 hours just playing, and reading EVERYTHING. When I mentioned the theaters, he turned with a HUGE smile on his face and with excitement he asked, "There's MORE!?!" he was fascinated the entire time. Haha it was so fun! And while he was there, we had a short lesson with him where we planned his baptismal program- he didn't want to wait! Later that night I asked Ryan (his roommate, the member who invited him to come to a church activity in the first place) I asked him how he felt about baptizing Brandon, and without looking up from his gold panning, he simply said, "honored." I love those two! I am just so lucky to help him make this covenant. I can picture him being baptized, confirmed, go to the temple, and in a year exactly, report as a missionary-- he will be such a GREAT missionary! He is so knowledgeable with the scriptures, oh and you should have heard his testimony he shared at his baptism.

   His baptism went GREAT, everything just fell in it's proper order and went smoothly. Sister Stott, Elder Vaughn, Elder Hendrichson, Sean (our ward mission leader) and myself sang for the musical number... I wouldn't say it was great, but it was good! Sean decided to join us last minute, which really made it! So it was all the Helix ward missionaries, and my first time singing at a baptism. So towards the end of the service, Brandon had the opportunity to share his testimony.. it was solid. He stated that he "knew the bible and the Book of Mormon are true, and I'm grateful I found the true church. And all by Ryans invitation to me.: He then continued to invite everyone to invite their friends to do missionary work- quoting  President Monson. He testified of all the essentials, the BOM, Joseph Smith, the living prophet, and the restoration. Hearing his testimony strengthened mine, and I'm sure everyone else that was in the room. It is just so incredible to see how he has changed already in these short few weeks. The gospel truly does change lives. This is the gospel of transformation. http://lds.org/pages/lifting-burdens?lang=eng this is the video that we watched while Brandon was changing, this is probably my favorite mormon message!!

   Well so I'm really out of time to keep going- I have so much more that I want to share with you! But this is Sister Stotts last pday so there is a lot to get done for her to be ready to head home... and of course we want to have enough time to have as much fun as we can, while we can! I hope you all have a great week! I love you all soo much!

Love,

Sister Miller

Hello everyone!!

   HAPPY VALENTINES DAY (yesterday)! I have to admit, I think I was reminded of it being Valentines Day at least 10 times yesterday! Haha although the number of couples that were walking around Old Town and in the Historic Site should have been a good enough reminder! We had a great day, Sister Stott and I even made sugar cookies and decorated them so we could drop them off to some of our members and investigators, it was so fun! We ding dong ditched one of them and as we were leaving his house and back on the main road, we called him to make sure he got them... turns out he was driving right behind us! Haha we pulled over, talked for a bit and told him to go get his cookies. Clearly we are a little rusty when it comes to ding-dong ditching goodies!

   This last Sunday at church it was announced that Deirdre was going to be our new Relief Society Secretary! Deirdre was recently baptized back in July. I'm so excited for her, there's not a doubt in my mind that she is going to do phenomenal!

   We have an an amazing week with Branden! It is amazing how sincere and diligent he is at learning the truth- and feeling the truth! At one of our lessons last week, we were teaching him about the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity- it turns out he had already read both of the pamphlets because he saw them laying around his house from when we were teaching Miguel! So he was already very knowledgeable about what the commandment was and the blessings that will flow from keeping the commandments. That same lesson we invited him to be baptized and he gladly and eagerly accepted! He said he wanted to do it soon, so we are getting things set for this Sunday, and he is well on his way to being prepared for it. At church two days ago, they announced his baptism so that everyone could be invited. Then in gospel principles class Branden was the main one making all the comments, and even volunteered to offer the closing prayer. I'm convinced that one of the reasons he is so prepared to receive the restored gospel and make this decision to follow Jesus Christ, is because of the examples he has around him. He was first invited to come to an activity by his friend, then that same friend invited him to come to church, and now that he's made other friends in the church, they are able to come to his lessons and support him as he prepares to be baptized. Members of the church fellowshipping visitors and extending a welcome hand makes all the difference! So please PLEASE when you see someone at church that looks unfamiliar, reach out to them, it can change the path of their life for all of eternity!

     Well I better get going! I hope you all have a GREAT week! I love you all so much! I'm so grateful to be apart of the true church, with all of Christs truths restored. If we all stay close to the teachings of Jesus Christ, I just know we will be our happiest and never led astray.

Love,

Sister Miller

Good Morning!! It has been such a grrrreat week :) I LOVE SERVING A MISSION. Ok but really, this really is the best thing in the WORLD. Best 2 (1 1/2) years is RIGHT! I am soo glad that I've been able to have this chance to serve. I have learned so many different things... it would take all day- a few days- maybe even months to name off and describe everything that I've learned and experienced. No wonder RM's always refer to their missions! I'm definitely going to. No doubt.

    A couple of days this week we had all day in our area (which is unusual, we tend to only have one). We had a really neat experience up at the Trolly Station in Lemon Grove. We arrived there and had some time until Daisy would be there (a potential investigator), so we sat in our car for a bit but then saw a girl standing by herself so we ventured over to her, she looked YSA age. We talked for a bit and invited her to learn more and come to the activities, after chatting we got her information and returned to our car. After that, Ralph came to the car saying, "I found you!! I've been looking for you! Thank you God! I knew you were still there and hadn't forgotten!" We weren't suppose to be meeting there, he just happened to spot us in the car! He seemed more happy than usual, I commented on that and asked how come? And he responded by saying, well to be honest, because I found you guys!" Seconds after Ralph got there, Daisy walked up to the car! So Sister Stott talked to her nearby while I continued talking with Ralph. Then two Trolly cops/security came over and asked what was going on, after explaining that we were missionaries, one of them started asking about how we only talk to our families twice a year... apparently he used to meet with missionaries almost every day but that they haven't stopped by in awhile. He said they always had a great a story for him. We went on to talk about the difference between missionaries on bike and missionaries in car. We had a GREAT conversation! Well after they evaluated the situation and found out we weren't doing anything illegal, they returned back to where the Trolly was. Then we had another guy come up to us asking for donations- he was trying to sell a cd... well instead of buying a cd I told him about the YSA activities that we have, and got his number so he can come and so we can tell him more about the restored gospel. It's just soo incredible how much the Lord blessed us when we do what's right. We went out of our way to talk to the girl standing alone, and in return, the Lord blessed us with people coming to US! The Lord always blesses us more than we think He will.

   This last Sunday we were also able to attend a baptismal service for a referral we got from the temple. It was about 2 months ago, we were serving on the grounds, talking and showing pictures of the inside to people who came! Well she came onto the grounds, we got to talk for a little while and she agreed to meet with missionaries. She was living her in San Diego and so we've been able to keep up to date on her progress, in fact the Elders who taught her held a lot of the lessons at the Historic Site, so we were able to see her then! Well, she decided to be baptized this last Sunday and we were able to go to the service. She is a completely different woman! When she was at the temple, you could tell she had a hard life, wasn't happy, and was really just struggling! But on Sunday she was just smiling, laughing, and happy!

   This last week we have also been able to meet with a few formers that we taught a while back. That's one of the joys about being in the same area for so long! We are starting to a teach a guy who we taught back in August, and it's incredible to see how much the Lord has continued to prepare him in these last few months that we weren't meeting. Same with the other guy. We taught him back in December, but soon after lost contact- well he's back! We met with him and he's been reading Mosiah in the Book of Mormon! He was raised Jehovah Witness, and he just loves how we believe in continued revelation, that the Lord continues to guide us today through a living prophet- just like with Noah or Moses! When we told him about the living prophet, he wanted so bad to hear everything that he's been telling us lately! I just love to see his desire to learn and strengthen his faith! He has such great faith, and strong desire to do what's right! Whenever we testified of a gospel truth- he would relate it to a story in the Bible, "yeah like when ....... in the Bible!?" Yeah! Haha he's awesome! He quotes scripture left and right... he is searching for the truth and I'm soo grateful that I can be here to help him discover these truths!

    I feel like my prayers are becoming more meaningful and personal. Like I am really having a conversation with the Lord, and like I am really in the moment right then, talking to Father with all my heart, mind and strength... strength to say focused and alert! Haha but I feel a powerful change in my prayers, I enjoy praying! I am listening to the spirit to know what to pray for and that's made a huge difference in my prayers too, making them more sincere... it's been nice, and even therapeutic. Please please take time to prayer and actually converse with our Father in Heaven, and take the time to listen to the spirit to help you know what to prayer for, it makes a world of a difference.

    I love you all soo much and I hope you have a great week, look for people around you to help and share the gospel with-- remember, if you go out of your way just a little, the Lord will bless you more than you can even imagine or truly understand, try it :)

Love,

Sister Miller

Good morning!!

   It's been such an GREAT week! First of all... no more water outage- phew! But we had Elder David Evans from the First Quorum of the Seventy tour our mission this last week. So we had a tri-zone conference where he spoke to us. He addressed the responsibilities of his quorum and then gave quite a while for questions, and also took a good chunk of time addressing the doctrine of Christ from 2 Nephi 31 and how it is crucial to truly understand the doctrine and how it applies to our lives every single day, have faith, repent, renew covenants, be worthy of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end- trying to be our best selves every single day. It was great to have him speak at the conference. At the close of the conference, President Donaldson shared a very powerful testimony, I took a lot of notes throughout the entire conference, but I wish there was some way to capture the spirit I felt there, it was incredible.

  This last weekend was the one year mark of the opening of the new Mormon Battalion Historic Site, on the 27th of January is when the Mormon Battalion arrived in San Diego. There was a big celebration down at Old Town square where there was a parade and historic displays, crafts for children, pioneer games and music. And then that night there was a fireside about the Mormon Battalion by Sherman L. Fleek, a historian from West Point. He spent a lot of time at the historic site so it was neat to talk to him... he knows just about everything that has to do with military- especially the Mormon battalion. I bought his book and he signed it :) yep, I love and respect the Mormon Battalion THAT much!

   Terrell finally got confirmed on Sunday! He came to church early so he could be interviewed to make sure he was still living worthily for it. He brought his girlfriend along with him, and they are planning to be married by the end of the year. Our next goal is to teach about how they can be together forever if they are married in the temple!

   Alex and Oscar are doing so great! It's been such a testimony builder to see how the gospel is beginning to truly bless them and improve their lives. They both have such a great desire to share the gospel! They have been bringing their friends to activities and church, and Oscar has even given us a few of his friends that he would like us to take a DVD to or something. Oh and we met with Ben last night! He is so cool! We met at the church just before FHE, we taught him about the doctrine of Jesus Christ, he set the goal to be baptized on Feb. 26th as long as he gets an answer by then that it is true. He has such a great faith in Jesus Christ and you can just tell that he wants to follow Him. He stayed for FHE and met a lot of new friends while playing in the ping pong tournament (which was their activity) and then afterwards he went out to Denny's with some of his new friends in the ward! Again, it's so neat to have him be able to make good friends and have those good examples in his life as he is trying to be better.

   It was such a great week! The missionary work across the world really is moving forward! And it is such a big help to have the ward members help out like they have been lately. It makes such a HUGE difference in the progress of the investigator when an they make a friend in the ward (especially if that friend is the one to introduce them to the church) Just like President Hinckley said, they have an instant support system. And even if they aren't NEW to the church, maybe they are less-active, or maybe they are completely active, they could be struggling or having a hard time. This last week we prayed about who we need to visit in the ward, we called that person and met with them, and it turns out she really was in need of spiritual help and love from people who care-- and by taking that time to pray and move forward with that impression to call her and see her, we can show her that we care and we are here for her. God answers prayers. He has children all around us that need help, and if we pray and ask who they are, He will tell us. So I encourage... no I challenge, each one of you to pray and find out that person (or people) who need YOU. And I want to hear about your experiences you have because of this challenge. PLEASE do it! You will bless the lives around you, and in turn, you will be blessed too!

   I love you all so much and I hope you all have a GREAT week! Seriously though, I LOVE YOU!

Love,

Sister Miller

Hey everyone!! What a BEAUTIFUL day! It's sunny out, I've got a lot of errands done already and we are about to head out to play some wiffleball down at Petco Park (which is the stadium that.... some big team plays at haha... clearly I don't keep track of that right now).

   This week was such a good week! GABRIEL WAS CONFIRMED ON SUNDAY! He had an interview right before sacrament meeting to make sure he was still clean and staying strong keeping the commandments, and he passed! So one of the Elders who shares the ward with us, Elder Hepworth, confirmed him and we had the bishopric and some of his new friends he has made stand in to confirm him. There was also another confirmation done on Sunday, her name is Alex. I'm not sure if I've told you about her yet, but she is AMAZING! Her parents were just baptized about a month ago, on Christmas. And Alex has been taking her time, really just trying to figure everything out and if it's really true. Alex is really in tune with the spirit, I keep reminding myself to not covet that talent of hers, haha. She receives answers to her prayers quickly and so clearly too! She wrote down a list of questions she had, and then said a prayer and asked God about all of the questions, and she got answers (the right ones) that we (and the elders) had never even taught her! She had an interesting experience, she was having a GREAT morning and then for some reason, it changed drastically, and for not apparent reason. We shared with her Joseph  Smiths experience in the grove when he was about to pray, but then Satan came tempting him right when something miraculous was about to happen. Satan will try anything and everything to bring us down and put doubts in our mind. She was able to relate to the story and we even talked about baptism with her, she's praying about either the 16th or the 23rd. WELLLLL this last week we get a phone call from the Elders saying that she wanted to be baptized, that night (Wednesday night). One of the elders (a visa waiter) had just received his visa so he was leavin gin the morning, so she decided she needed to do it that night. Soem phone calls were made (because she wanted to do it in the ocean!) and we all headed down to La Jolla Shores! She was baptized right at sunset, the spirit was strong, and the elders played a song on the ukelele and sang "How Can I Be". It was a memorable night to say the least :) Friday night she called us CRYING, just sobbing! I thought, oh no... what happened! Well it turns out it was a good cry. She's been going to a lot of doctor appointments for her health to see if she will be able to have kids someday... and on the day before she was baptized the doctor had told her she wouldn't be able to. And then the day after her baptism, she found out she could! She recognized it as a blessing and miracle straight from the hands of God. She took the step of exercising her faith, and in return He gave her the best gift she could ever receive. We were texting that night about her miracle and she commented, "I YEARN to tell others about this! ITS TRUE!" Anyways, she was confirmed Sunday too :)

   We haven't been able to meet with Oscars friends yet, but we are still trying! But we were able to witness a miracle Sunday which continued on to yesterday! Thomas brought his roommate to church with him, Ralph, we were able to set up an appointment with him for yesterday. When we went over to his house we were able to get to know him and his family situation, apparently his entire family converted to mormonism a few years back, but he's been the "black sheep" and never joined. He feels like he needs a new "hobby" and he wants church to be one! We were able to introduce the Book of Mormon and prayer, we have our next appointment for Wednesday! I'm excited!

   So good things are happening and I'm excited to be apart of it! We have transfers tomorrow morning and I think there will be a lot of switches between all the sisters. Our mission is piloting a new program that deals with training new missionaries differently, I don't really understand all the details about it so I'll probably expound more next week... if I remember :) Well I hope you all have a great week! And I love you all soo much!

Love,

Sister Miller

Hello everyone! This week has been soo good, I don't even know where to start...

   The ward is great! Oh my goodness, Oscar is doing so good! Remember, he is the one who got baptized Dec. 18th and since then he has told us of three of his friends who he would like us to visit and help, and he plans on us  meeting a few other ones soon too! It's incredible to see how he has embraced the restored gospel and how it has changed his life around. Last night we had an appointment and discussed the importance of serving a mission, he said he would like to go, his only set back is that he is the provider of the home. His Dad isn't around so ever since he was in 9th grade, he has had to work and pay all the bills. He believes in miracles and he said he trusts in God and will pray for a way to be provided! Sharing a message of missionary work is my FAVORITE thing to do, I just get filled with so much energy that I can't even contain myself. And I probably don't make much sense, and it doesn't sound real eloquent (mostly because I don't give myself time to think, I just start blurting out how amazing a mission is) but hopefully they get the point and at least understand how much joy and enthusiasm being a missionary and doing missionary work brings into ones life. It's the best... I don't even know how to describe my feelings about my mission, it's just the best! Haha. Oh boy.. moving on..

   We had a Mission President Fireside Sunday night... a night of music and testimonies. I sang in the choir and all the musical numbers were so good! The spirit was strong and the congregation really liked it I think.
   So I found out something really cool yesterday! We've had a new senior couple serving here at the historic site for the last 2 months, Sister and Elder Thomas. There's a great spirit about them! I haven't had a chance to get to know them as well as I would like, but boy did I get to know them a little better yesterday! Apparently (and I feel kind of dumb, like I should have known this) Sister Thomas served as the first counselor in the general young womens presidency back in 2000-2003. During her service there, she spoke in every session of general conference, giving a total of 6 talks! Oh I feel so awful about not having a single clue about it. She hasn't even mentioned it to anyone here! She had made mention about having assignments from the church in other countries, but sheesh! Anyways it has been so great to serve with those two. They served a mission previously together at BYU Jerusalem, Elder Thomas served as the doctor there. They are such a fabulous couple and I plan on getting to know them a lot better real soon! Just thought I would share some exciting news with you all.

   The church is soo true :) and I love sharing it with everyoneeee, it brings peace and happiness, aww it's just amazing. Anyways, well that's it for this week, I love you ALL and I hope you have such a great week! You are all in my prayers.

Love,

Sister Miller

Love,

Sister Miller

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! I love having "new starts" in things, especially having a new year. What a great opportunity to rededicate, refocus, and realign our lives with our Saviors and do the will of our Fathers. I am always amazed at the thought that our Father in Heaven really does know the end from the very beginning, our view is far-sided and sometimes we have blinders on the sides... but with an eternal perspective and the help of our Father, we are still able to do amazing things. At the end of the Mormon Battalion tour there's a line that says, "God gave us what we wanted most from where we least expected it." we really are ordinary men and woman, who are capable of doing extraordinary things. May we all rededicate, refocus, and realign... I know that in doing these things, we will be prepared to receive the blessings that our Fathers wants us to have and knows we need.

    The last week was a GREAT one! It was Sister Stott's birthday on New Years Eve so that morning we had an app. at the church that really ended up being a gathering of missionaries from the surrounding areas and members from our ward, it was so fun! We were then called to serve at the temple grounds for what we thought would be 11-5, however we quickly found out the temple was closing at noon with the grounds closing shortly after that. Well when we arrived, there were wedding parties all around the temple, there were 19 weddings in just 3 hours. So here Sister Stott and I were, hustling all over the temple grounds, talking to members and visiting those just "checking it out". In those few fast hours we were able to get 8 referrals, what a tender mercy of the Lord! There were people coming onto the grounds prepared and searching for more truths, and we were there and ready to help them. The spirit was strong that day, and I will treasure that memory forever.

    Terrell passed his interview on Saturday, just after we had finished teaching him some of the questions he would be asked, haha it was a stressful 3 days of teaching him everything he needed to know in order to be prepared for Sunday! Terrell is SOO AWESOME! It was a testimony meeting on Sunday, and he went up there- wearing his bright blue suit and all, he read a poem he had written and thank everyone for their support and welcoming him. Sunday we had a double baptism as Thomas was baptized too! They both had people there to support them as well as our entire ward! We had our regular classes and then after church we all gathered again in the chapel where we had the baptism program, when it came time for the ordinance we all walked into the primary room where the font was, watched the two get baptized, then went back to the chapel where we did a presentation on Christ's life and him being our perfect example. Towards the end of the program Terrell got up again to read another poem and bear his testimony, when the program had finished, Tatiana who was there to support Thomas came up to us asking when her date was to be baptized and that she was very excited for it. She still needs to come to church a few times and meet with us to get her prepared for that day which will be the 16th. From the chapel we all went into the gym where we had a "break the fast" and ate lunch together... then we hurried off to serve at the Mormon Battalion! What a perfect day :)

     What a great way to start this brand new year :) I'm so grateful for this past year that I had the opportunity to serve a mission and learn and grow-- I have learned so much, I can't even begin to start listing all the lessons I've learned. I just know I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve with our Savior in bringing others unto the knowledge of him and our Father in Heaven and helping them return to live with Him someday. Serving a mission is the best thing in the entire world :)

    I love you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful week and start this year off right :)

I love you!

Sister Miller