February 20, 2017

We had yet another busy week. It has been extremely hot these days and everywhere we go we are running to the shade trying to stay out of the sun. You have no idea what its like walking around the city of in high nineties with a shirt and tie on you neck. Many times during the week we knocked on a door to try and talk to someone and the first thing we do is plead for water! It rained a little bit this week, but it was so hot that the rain was falling on the ground and evaporating at the same time. We were really seeing the rain touch the ground and disappear, there really was steam everywhere because the rain was evaporating so fast.

This week we had a sweet ward activity. My companion and I organized a ward family night. It was pretty sweet. We put the smack down on everyone. It was pretty good for the first time. We had about 30 people there, but it will get better as we keep getting on everyone's tail. We have been working like dogs trying to get our teaching pool up and going and we really received some great blessings this week. We have been working with a guy named Kaíke he is a recent converts friend. He showed up at church with his girlfriend, sister, kid, and other friend so that was pretty sweet. We also had another young man bring his friend to church. Also Arozina was there and we were able to mark with her to go to the registry office to start the wedding papers. So I will keep you updated on how that goes. 

Also my comp and I spoke in church so that was cool. It went okay, not my best talk, but its all good.  It looks like we are starting to have some miracles in potential. The next few weeks will be exciting to see what happens. I just LOVE BAPTIZING so much. All I want to do is help everyone understand how important it is to baptize everyone.

The zone is doing great! We are really killing it right now! As for now we are leading the mission in baptisms!!!!! Even with 6 greenies in my zone we are doing great!! I am super happy mom, I wouldn't rather be anywhere else in the world than São Paulo East!! Time is flying and I am loving life.

Com muito amor,

Elder Millard

February 13, 2017

So another week has flown by!!

We started the week of with transfers last Tuesday. Transfer day is always really tiring because you spend the whole day running around the subway stations helping everyone get to where they need to be, Especially sisters we have to help a lot because of all the luggage. So I spent all day running around São Paulo East trying to get everyone in their places. Especially now that I am a zone leader who is getting old in the mission, everyone was calling me asking where they need to go and how to get there and if I could help. I must have received 50 phone calls that day. I think I know how to get around São Paulo better than the people who live here.

Then on Wednesday we worked hard trying to get our teaching pool up and running. We met a man named Renato. His mom is inactive, but he is willing to learn. So we taught him "the Gospel of Jesus Christ" put the smack down and marked the baptism. We gave him a goal for march 5th. 

We also set a date with Diana to go to the temple and do baptisms for some of her family. We have a few other people in potential, but most of this week we spent planning and having meetings trying to get a vision of what we want to happen in the next few months.

On Friday we had a leadership meeting at the mission office. So we spent all day there getting trained by President and other leaders. It was a blast as always. We got to see some mission buddies and it is always good to get a training from Pres. He really is the man. He is so dang spiritual it is amazing! It was really awesome. 

My zone has 6 new missionaries!!!! That is a lot! So my comp. and I are really praying and trying real hard to help them out. We are trying to get them excited to baptize, as that is our purpose. All is well and we continue working hard! Time is flying by so fast! Keep up the good work and never forget the words of the prophet: After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel.

Have a great week! 

Elder Millard

February 6, 2017- Seja feita a vontade do Senhor

Hey Fam!

As far as good news goes; we had transfers this week. My companion and I will be staying here in Penha together!! We are doing great together and he is becoming a good friend of mine. He is a really good dude, he reminds me so much of my life back in little O-town. He is a cowboy and likes about all the things that I like. We are making some plans for him to visit Utah after the mission.

This week we went really well. We had a zone meeting on Tuesday which was awesome, to thank our zone for all the work we had a breakfast for everyone. It was good because our zone really had a lot of experiences together. We went from having no success at all at the start of the transfer to seeing a lot of miracles in these last few weeks. So it was great to have everyone there participating, we had breakfast and after a small testimony meeting that got everyone full of the spirit!

Also we have been working with a family of husband, wife and 6 kids for a long time. They are from some country in Africa and the husband has been a member for a long time, but the wife is not. She is not able to be baptized as they are not legally married. We have been waiting for their legal papers to be authorized for them to be able to get married here in Brazil and it finally came through, so we marked a wedding this week and it should happen in a few weeks, then the wife (Arozina) will be baptized shortly after. 

Other than that we continue working hard trying help our zone and our area! I am so grateful to be here on a mission. It really is hard to get myself up and excited day after day, but the Lord is helping a lot and I feel his hand molding me to be the man that he wants me to be. I feel the love of the Savior for me and I know that God has given me more blessings than I deserve. I never want to forget these blessings. As I am winding down my last 7 months I hope and pray to never forget what I am learning here. I will work with all my might to stay strong to the Iron Rod!! God Speed!! I am here to baptize the nations!!!!!! 

Elder Millard

January 30, 2017- -Sião estará

We had another really busy week. It was really busy and I think we spent more time in other areas or in meetings than in our own area kkkk. 

This week we got some referrals that we have been trying to get in contact with. So we had some solid lessons with some people that have a lot of potential to progress.

The best part of this week was when we had a world wide training for all the missionaries in the world. It was really amazing! After that training I am absolutely sure that the Lord is preparing the world for His coming! I really just left that training totally inspired to baptize everyone!! There were a lot of changes that happened in missions all over the world. Basically in our mission what changed was our schedule; like what time we get up or what time we study and plan. Also our numbers moved. It was amazing and I am sure that the apostles talked with the Lord about these changes. I hope this will help our mission understand better why we are here!

Then on Friday we had another great day because we had interviews with President and Sister Silcox! The interview with Pres. was awesome, he is so flippin good.  I love my Pres - I want to be like him when I grow up! He is just a man so in-tuned with the spirit! I think it is pretty impossible to not feel the spirit in the room with him. Sister Silcox said she is going to make brownies for my comp and I because our zone is doing so well!! She also said that after the mission if I go to Spanish Fork I can stay at their house.

Then to finish off the week we had Stake Conference. Elder Antunes of the 70 was presiding the meeting. He asked for only the zone leaders to be there on the Saturday session, so as we were there listening I was looking at the floor and I here him call my name so I look at my comp. and I said "did he call my name?" and he said yes, so I had to get up and give a surprise testimony of 5 min. during the Saturday night session of stake conference. I got a little nervous, but it went well! Then on Sunday we had a great meeting. President Silcox spoke and yet again he just threw down!! 

The little time that we had in our area we spent running around trying to find a house for us to move, because where we live right now is a real dump.

Anyways mom, it was a great week and I am doing well. The church is true and we must build up HIS kingdom here on earth.

Elder Millard

January 23, 2017-Let it rain let it pour

Well another week has gone. As my wise companion says; in the mission the days seem like weeks, and the weeks seem like days. It really is hard to understand, but it is so true!  

This week was a little rough for us. It has rained everyday this week!! Honestly everyday this week we spent the day soaking wet walking in the rain!  This week I did have some pretty great experiences. I am the zone leader in Penha and if you remember the area Sapopemba where I once served is part of our zone, so this week we had splits with the Elders in Sapopemba. I spent 2 days there and It was so great to see everyone that I met before. I saw Pedro and Paulo my 2 baptisms!! They are doing great! Serving the sacrament, sharing testimony! Those guys are so flippin great!! The ladies from that ward all love me and call me their son haha.  When I saw them they all screamed and wanting to hug me, but had to settle with a handshake. It was so nice to be in that area again! I think you remember how much I loved that area!! I was really surprised that I remember everything so well I was running around the area and I remembered all the streets and our old investigators. So we were able to visit a lot of people and it went so well. Ahhhhh I don't even know what else to say about it, it just went great!

Diana is doing great, she was confirmed and given the Holy Ghost yesterday. She had to work a lot this week so it was hard to visit her, but she seems to be progressing really well.

This week is going to be really busy for us. We are just about finishing up the transfer so we are working hard trying to give our missionaries that last little push to finish of the transfer. Also we will have a wold wide missionary training from Salt Lake City. Also we will have interviews with President Silcox and We also have a meeting with all the stake leaders. So it will be a busy week, but that's the way we like it. 

All is well, I am loving life and everything is great!! God loves us, and worries about our happiness.

God Speed

Love, 

Elder Millard