August 8, 2016

We had a good week. We have been working a lot with this young woman, she is the sister of another recent convert. She loves the Book of Mormon and is really excited about the church. Her name is Rosangela and she is 15 years old. She is super excited and loved her baptism yesterday!!!!  I felt the spirit so strong when I was teaching her and I really am so proud to have witnessed this miracle!

She lives about two hours away from where we live and in this last week of preparation for her baptism we went there everyday and she lives at the top of this giant mountain so I definitely got some good hiking miles in this week. Its all good, I needed it! 

During this last two weeks of the transfer we are just really trying to find some new investigators. Everyone in our branch is saying that I am going to be transferred and my comp will stay. However there is this guy that is kind of famous in the mission for being able to guess what will happen with transfers and he says that I will stay one more hahaha. Things are going good with my greenie and he is different than I am but we are doing alright. 

The mission is going great and I don't ever want to forget all the amazing things I am learning here. The blessings are a lot bigger than the difficulties. Sometimes our hardest challenges become our biggest blessings. 

That's all I have for this week. Love you all!

Elder Millard

P.S.  

Ela é Rosangela uma moça com muito fé! Ela recebeu uma resposta de Deus e está muito animado na igreja. Ela está lendo O Livro de Mórmon todos os dias e está sentindo o amor de Deus! Com certeza ela é uma eleita do Senhor! Sou muito grato de ter o privilegio para fazer essa jornada com ela.

August 2, 2016

Hey Family!

This week was super chill. We are having a hard time finding people to teach but we are really trying to get people to church. This week we had a zone conference that was pretty sweet, I felt the spirit way strong. My president is a sweet guy. He is so loving and always brings the spirit. 

Then on Friday we went to the temple with two recent converts that have been working on family history. I respect these two youths a lot because they are the only members in their family and have really been working to be able to go to the temple. We had an amazing experience at the temple!!! I really felt like crying as the president of the temple gave a message to our recent converts about temple work and then when I witnessed them being baptized for their family members. We all just felt really great about it and we all really felt that their ancestors had accepted our work and are extremely happy that they are doing this amazing work!

Our other investigator is progressing extremely well and is so excited to be baptized. She had already talked with the missionaries before but never wanted anything, when we convinced her to read the Book of Mormon and pray she received an answer and is just so happy that she can be cleaned from her sins and start a new life. She will be baptized this Sunday!

I know this church is true and I am loving life. I have so much happiness in my life because of the gospel. Everyone talks about how the mission is so amazing and it is, but nobody talks about all the hard times. I can assure you, that the mission has moments extremely hard, but it really is amazing. I can honestly say that I have gained an unbreakable testimony of this church. Gods plan is so perfect and it really is amazing!!!!

Love you, Have a great week.

Elder Millard.

July 26, 2106

Hey All,

I don't have a lot to write this week not a lot has happened. So I will just write fast and send some pics. 

It has been a solid week we had a great miracle this week. Last week we went to teach a new investigator with a member and it was a solid lesson, but I wasn't all that excited because she didn't seem very solid. However this week we went back and we asked if she read the chapter that we left for her in the BOM and she said that she read it and felt fireworks in her heart! We had a real smack down awesome lesson with her about the POS and she said that she wants to be baptized! That was a real light in the darkness for us because the work has been a little rough lately but I hope and pray that it all goes alright and she will be baptized on the 7th. 

The rest of the week was a lot of work and we are getting along. We should be going to the temple with some more recent converts this week so Ill let y'all know if it works out. 

I had a lot of awesome studies this week and I really Love the Book of Mormon more and more everyday. I know that it is true and I cannot deny the spirit that I feel when I read it. 

Life is great I am loving the mission and I cannot believe how fast time is flying!!!! 

Amo vocês 

Bom semana

Elder Millard

July 18, 2016- 1st trip to the Hospital!

We had a good week. We have been working a lot with this young woman, she is the sister of another recent convert. She loves the Book of Mormon and is really excited about the church. Her name is Rosangela and she is 15 years old. She is super excited and loved her baptism yesterday!!!!  I felt the spirit so strong when I was teaching her and I really am so proud to have witnessed this miracle!

She lives about two hours away from where we live and in this last week of preparation for her baptism we went there everyday and she lives at the top of this giant mountain so I definitely got some good hiking miles in this week. Its all good, I needed it! 

During this last two weeks of the transfer we are just really trying to find some new investigators. Everyone in our branch is saying that I am going to be transferred and my comp will stay. However there is this guy that is kind of famous in the mission for being able to guess what will happen with transfers and he says that I will stay one more hahaha. Things are going good with my greenie and he is different than I am but we are doing alright. 

The mission is going great and I don't ever want to forget all the amazing things I am learning here. The blessings are a lot bigger than the difficulties. Sometimes our hardest challenges become our biggest blessings. 

That's all I have for this week. Love you all!

Elder Millard

P.S.  

Ela é Rosangela uma moça com muito fé! Ela recebeu uma resposta de Deus e está muito animado na igreja. Ela está lendo O Livro de Mórmon todos os dias e está sentindo o amor de Deus! Com certeza ela é uma eleita do Senhor! Sou muito grato de ter o privilegio para fazer essa jornada com ela.

July 11, 2016

Sounds like the family had a great week! I would have loved to be a part of it but, duty calls. It is hard to believe that another week has already gone by, it seems like yesterday that I was here writing you. Time just flies by so fast! So transfers are tomorrow and I will be staying here with my greenie. 

Remember a few months ago when I was telling you about how God was testing us and when we passed the test we were extremely blessed and had a lot of baptisms? Well... its happening again.  We have been working hard but it just seems like everything we do has been failing. Everyone that we had has given up. We are really fighting to get people to church. We had a few good families but when we passed by this week one said that she doesn't want us going back there and isn't interested anymore. The other family said they are going to be baptized,...... but in a different church. So that was kind of a heart breaker, but what do you do..... its a part of the mission. 

I feel kind of bad because my comp is new in the mission and has to go through this, because I remember very well that mix of emotions. Its all a part of Gods plan, he knows our work, and I am sure in a few weeks this will pass. I am really loving our ward, and I hope they will remember me for a while. Yesterday we had meetings in the church all day so we got there at 8 in the morning and  we left at 8 at night. In sacrament meeting I was pretty proud and was just smiling from ear to ear. 1 recent convert blessing the sacrament 3 recent converts passing 1 recent convert giving a talk ah it was good. There were three people that gave talks and all three of them used a message that I had taught them and challenged our ward with the challenge that I gave them. Then in the priesthood meeting our bishop talked and used another message that I taught his family last week and thanked me for all my work in the ward. I wont lie, sometimes I get really upset and tired of this ward but I really feel God pushing me along telling me that I need to make a difference here and that I am yet to complete my work here. I just want to leave this ward better than I found it. Anyways I will keep working, and here in 6 weeks we will see if God is pleased with my work or not. 

Mom I doubt that the São Paulo were you remember is like the São Paulo here. You have to remember that I am in the EAST zone. It is the poorest place of São Paulo. It certainly isn't sky scrapers and clean streets. I took that picture when we were walking it the favela. There is a lot of mountains here but they are all invaded with people and full of trash. My mission is not a pretty one but it has the best people and I love it!!!! 

Anyways that's all for this week and I have to have more excited stuff to say next time. We are going to the temple with some recent converts this week so that should be good. Pray for my converts, they are really important to me and I hope we can find more people to teach.

Bom semana.

Amo vocês 

Elder Millard.

June 27, 2016

We have had another good week and we have been extremely blessed yet again. We have been working a lot with out recent converts and one of the young men brought his friend to church and we have been teaching him for a while and we got him baptized yesterday!! I forgot my card in our house so I will have to send pictures next week. We have been teaching him for a while but his mom wouldn't let him be baptized, but after a great smack down lesson with the spirit carrying my words and testifying to her, she authorized it and he was baptized last night. I really gained a strong testimony about the gift of tongues and in the spirit that lesson. I really don't speak Portuguese that great, but I was able to talk to her in a way that the spirit carried my words and she understood it all the way I wanted her to. I know that God really helped us get this baptism done. I can see that the Lord is trying to strengthen our ward with Priesthood and has given us so many great blessings.

I love my recent converts and I am really happy with most of them. It is really important to me that they stay strong so we have been teaching them a lot! We are doing Family history with them and preparing everyone for a trip to the temple. Here in a few weeks we should be going to do some baptisms!

The Baptismal service last night was good, but it was almost a comedy show. After running all over the city to try and get everyone on their way to the church we get there, and our ward mission leader had forgotten the water was on, filling the font, and he was in another room playing piano so the room of the baptismal font, was pretty much flooded with water so we had to clean that up. Then when we were changing clothes the brother that we had do the baptism was so nervous that he couldn't tie his tie, so he called me in the bathroom to help so I went in to help him and he was practicing the baptismal prayer and could just not get it. After a while he got it down, but didn't know how to do the baptism, so I went in the stall and practiced with him for a while. Hahahaha anyways after a while he got it all figured out. Then when they entered the water,  the font had pretty much completely drained because he forgot to put the plug back in. For about 10 min the brother baptizing couldn't figure out where to put his hands. They both had to kneel down in the water then when he put him under he fell over and couldn't lift him up out of the water so it ended up with the two of them splashing around for a little bit and everyone dying laughing hahaha.  Then to top it off when they were walking up the stairs he fell, and straight up cannon balled it in the tiny bit of water that there was. 

In the end we got it done and it was a good night. hahaha

Anyways I am trying everyday to be a better missionary and everyday I am more sure that this church is true. I love the mission and I am way happy! Time is flying by,.... this week I will have 9 months!!! oh loco!! 

Until next week. 

Elder Millard


June 20, 2016

So this has been a great week! We had some really amazing blessings!!

I don't remember if I have told you a lot about Cainã, he is a man that I actually met last month when I was with Chalampuento. He was in the street and I felt like I should talk to him but last month we were so dang busy so we never talked to him, I just got his address and told him that someday we will pass by. However I had kind of forgotten about him, but a few weeks ago we ran into him again in the street and we taught him the first lesson and he was pretty interested but pretty closed off about the BOM and Joseph Smith however will a lot of blessings and little moments of the spirit he received an answer and was baptized yesterday!! It is amazing how the Lord works, he put somebody in my path but I ignored it at first, but he is so loving and patient that he put him in our path again and after just 3 weeks of lessons and church he got the response that he needed to put his faith into work and make a covenant with God. He is a great guy and we have already made a great friendship. He has invited us over for dinner a lot and is always giving us food, rides, hahaha he really is a good dude. Because it is my comp's first baptism I wanted him to be able to baptize him, but Cainã is pretty Massive so I was a little worried and after a stressful Saturday of running around the city to find clothes that would fit him we finally got it all figured out and we had a great baptism yesterday!

It was an amazing blessing and I am sure that God put him in our path. I don't have a doubt that God is always helping us even though we sometimes don't deserve it. 

I am doing great and loving the mission. I know that I am not the best missionary and I know that I am falling short of my potential. I know that I am nowhere close to perfect, but I know that God loves me. I know that he knows our work, he knows everything about us. Even though we all fall short of what he wants of us he will always bless us if we do what is right. I am always working to be better. 

My comp is still pretty quiet and doesn't like to joke around to much, but I sure love the kid. hahaha He is a good missionary with a great mindset. He is the only member in his family and he knows why he is here. We are doing great here in Cohab Juscelino and I have been so blessed here I think the members will remember our work here for a long time!! 

All is good and life is great, I hope everyone is doing good at home.  Anyways that's all for this week!

com amor,

Elder Millard

June 13, 2016

My dear mother,

This week was good. The highlight was that we had a mission conference. The whole mission was together and we got a few trainings and it was super spiritual, I learned a lot that I think will help me and got a lot of answers to prayers. I love my mission president he is awesome. I also got to see all my mission buddies so that was pretty sweet too.

We have been working hard all week and honestly it is a little more rough these weeks. Last transfer we just reaped all our rewards and had a lot of success, but I think the Lord had but me back in my place. We are being tested again, and I know if we keep working all the blessings will come rolling in just like last transfer. We are trying hard to find new people and finalize a few baptisms. We had a baptism marked for last Sunday but sadly it didn't happen. The day before his family talked him out of it, and he wasn't at church last week so I am sad about that, but we will pass by this week and I have faith that it will work out. 

On a better note, my recent converts are all great and I am so freaking proud of them. We are working with them doing family history and we have a date marked to go to the temple and do baptisms with them! Last week our convert Maria bore her testimony and cried a lot saying that she knows this is the only true church and she is so grateful to meet me. I am so proud of her she is awesome!! I got a little chocked up last Sunday because 2 of my baptisms were passing sacrament and Maria shared her testimony and the other convert showed up in a fresh suit all handsome, I was just so happy and grateful for all of them. I am so EXCITED to go to the temple with them, I cant event imagine how I will feel seeing them enter there. 

My comp is good, he is Brazilian and I like him. He is super quiet and doesn't like to joke around a lot, but he is good. It is pretty hard to train a new missionary, but I know that the Lord called me to do this so I will try hard to fulfill my calling. 

I am happy and life is good. Thanks so much for all the packages. Don't worry about me mom I am being taken care of. I love you!

Elder Millard