The Lord's Hands

I´ve been doing a lot of self evaluation.  It´s pretty brutal, but healthy I think.  I was recently talking with my companion Hermana Alvey.  Expressing my frustration about having to repent for the same mistakes over and over.  That seems to be how it works, you have specific struggles that you never can seem to beat. 

I said ¨I just don´t want to have to bother God with the same thing every time.  I don't want to need help with this anymore¨

I think that's a pretty righteous desire.  To beat my weaknesses.  Seems like a good thing right?  

Well my comp in her infinite wisdom said ¨when you say that, do you realize what you are really saying?  You´re saying that you don´t want to need God anymore¨

Well that hit me like a train.  She was right.  No matter how much I improve, no matter how many weaknesses I defeat, I will always need my God and I will always need my Savior.  So now my challenge is to let go of my pride and put my broken little self in His hands, and Trust that He knows exactly what He is doing and will help me become all that I am meant to.  I challenge you to do the same.  Give everything to Him.  Christ says take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.  We are safe in His Hands.  I love you all, but He loves you more.

smile - Hna. Milmont

¡ser ó hacer!

So I´m pretty excited because my companion, Hna. Alvey and I will get to be together for another transfer (6 weeks) which is great because we have been seeing a great deal of progress in the area and in our companionship.  I love making goals!  I never liked goals before.  ever ever ever.  The majority of the Goals I have made in my few years have generally not been accomplished.  Despite my best efforts.  So my view on goals has been slightly jaded.  Luckily, goal setting is something that we implement in the mission field.... a ton.  Our life is all goals.  Its a beautiful thing.  Not so we can have a bunch of check boxes waiting to be filled, but because we can look at where we have been, where we are and where we want to go.  I´ve been thinking about my ¨to do¨ list and my ¨to be¨ list.  The more I focus on the ¨Why¨ for each of my goals I can see the relation between to do and to be.  Who I am and hope to become depends primarily on the things that I do.  

BY ELDER DAVID A. BEDNAR OF THE QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES 

once said that ¨what I do depends on how I feel about what I know¨ and 

BY ELDER JEFFREY R. HOLLAND Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

said that ¨I become the person I want to be by continually being the person I want to become¨.  Wrap your brain around that one.  I know that God has trusted me with myself.  I need to remember that each day.  I challenge you to think about who you are and who you would like to be and then make goals to grow, step by step in that direction.  I love you all.  Have a wonderful day:)  

smile - Hna. Milmont 

Mothers Day

Fast approaching once more is the marvelous day wherein we celebrate the existence of the most compassionate people in the world: our mothers.  Last year I studied about a group of young men whose faith would not be shaken because of the teachings, faith, and testimonies their mothers had shared with them.  This year my appreciation for my mother has increased substantially.  I have officially been away from my mom for just over a year and let me tell you, life far from you mom is not your average cake walk.
Recently we started reading the Book of Mormon as a mission.  Each of us is reading it from cover to cover in the next 3 months.  The purpose behind this is to strengthen our testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to prepare us spiritually for the opening of the Temple here in Buenos Aires in August and its dedication in September.  I love the gold mine of knowledge, insights, and spiritual strength that I receive from reading.  We receive that same kind of strength as we visit the Temple, feeling the love of God and showing our love for Him by making promises to serve Him and keep His commandments.
Throughout the Book of Mormon there are countless examples of how keeping the commandments and making sacrifices brings forth the blessings of heaven.  In the beginning of the Book of Mormon we are given the story of a little family who are commanded by the Lord to leave Jerusalem in order to escape the pending captivity and destruction in 590 b.c. - 582 b.c. (1)
Further along in the story, the 4 sons in this family -  Laman,  Lemuel,  Sam, and Nephi - needed to return to Jerusalem to get the scriptures and records of their family.  In other words, they were called on a mission.  They experienced many growing experiences.  Learning by trial and error, making plans, back-up plans, getting discouraged, taking courage, experiencing fear, finding faith and relying on the Lord etc.  Ultimately through the trials of their faith their testimonies were strengthened.  But how did their Mother feel, not knowing how her children were doing, being so disconnected?
We as missionaries often forget that people exist at home.  Our time is dedicated 100% to the Lord and His work.  We know that our mothers and the people we love are praying for us, but time to think about that is pretty limited.  In the scriptures there aren´t many examples of mothers, but the examples we do have are precious and give us comfort, no?
In 1 Nephi chapter 5:1-9 (2)  Sariah expresses much of her worry to her husband.  Her sons are alone, its dangerous, the weather is crazy, what might happen to them, they can´t cook, they have no kind of communication, basically she is imagining the worst.  On their departure her thoughts were possibly somewhere along the lines of ¨will I see them again?¨  once upon a time I judged Sariah for being ¨weak¨ but now as I study and have a little more life experience I realize that her worries had nothing to do with weakness and everything to do with Love.  Lehi, being a supportive husband comforts her.  He says (according to my interpretation) ¨I know, you think I´m crazy for letting them go, but they were called to serve¨ and then he bares testimony that they will make it home safely.  And they do.  On their return, her loving heart was put at ease and through that trial her testimony too was strengthened.  She shares that testimony and gratitude thereby strengthening us in our faith in our Father in Heaven.
We make sacrifices in this life and receive blessings that are incredible.  Another Mother, closer to our century, is that of Joseph Smith, the prophet through whom Christ restored His church upon the earth in these latter days.  As a child Joseph contracted typhoid fever which left Him with a crippling infection in his shin.  Amputation was the accepted medical procedure at the time (aprx. 1813)  But a new method had been developed whereby the doctor would bore into the edges of the infected bone and break it out.  Hoping that the healthy part of the bone would regenerate in that area.  With this procedure, 7 year old Joseph would be able to keep his leg, which he would need later in life.  The family chose to trust in the Lord and go through with the new method. (3)
I cannot imagine the courage necessary for such a painful operation and process.  And to be a mother knowing that their child is suffering such pain.  Through her words we try to imagine the situation:  Joseph refused liquor that might dull his pain; he pleaded not to be strapped but rather held by his fathers arms; and through tears he begged his mother to leave the room, insisting ¨the Lord will help me, and I shall get through with it¨
I doubt we as missionaries are going through such pain, but if we are, we all know or are coming to know that the Lord is there.  From all missionaries everywhere : Mom, if you are worried for me like Sariah was for her sons or Lucy was for Joseph, I want you to know that I am being held in my Father's arms, He is taking care of me and on my return we will rejoice exceedingly.  Thank you for your love, patience and willingness to let me leave you for this time to serve the Lord and His children.
I know that this Gospel is true.  That through Faith in Jesus Christ we can Repent, be Baptized by one holding the priesthood authority of God, Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Endure Faithfully to the end. I will receive strength to repent and change, to go to church each Sunday, to take the sacrament and renew the promises that I made at Baptism to always remember Christ and His sacrifice, take His name upon me and keep His commandments.  Christ is my Savior and through Him I am healed.  God is my Father in Heaven, He loves me and cares for me. I know that He knows me personally.  The Church of Jesus Christ has been restored for us in our time, the Latter days, through the prophet Joseph Smith who was called of God to do so.  Through the spirit of revelation he translated the Book of Mormon.  I am convinced that through its pages we develop a love so deep for our Savior and an understanding of His teachings in their Fullness.  I have read it, pondered it and asked God if it is true.  It is! I know it!   I want you to know it too!  I invite you to take that same challenge and know for yourself.  I Love my Savior, I love His Gospel.  God answers prayers. This is my testimony - Happy Mothers day Yaya, I love you forever.
Smile - Hna Milmont.    
1. Nephi 1: 4  http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/1?lang=eng2nd Kings 24 http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-kgs/25?lang=engJeremiah 1:3 http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/jer/1?lang=eng2. http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/5?lang=eng3. http://www.lds.org/ensign/2005/12/a-prophets-life-the-cradle-sharon-vermont?lang=eng

Simple Power

So this past weekend I had a unique experience.  I had the opportunity to be a Visitor Center Missionary.  Talk about a different world.  One of the couple missionaries has a tour where they imitate the tour of the LDS visitor center in salt lake.  If you have never been I would recommend it.  But yours truly was called up and asked to participate in giving tours.  it was really fun, I´m not such a fan of standing so much, I would much rather walk.  But all the smiling was definitely in my area of expertise.  You know me and how I love to smile.  It made me think a great deal about the Gospel and how it inspires happiness.  I feel that the light in a persons eyes is directly connected to their spiritual well being and or state.  The spirit speaks through each of us.  But the message is communicated more strongly as we smile.  I feel like when we smile at someone it is really a message from our Father in Heaven, telling them that He loves them.  What a great and yet simple gift we can give to those around us.  I am more happy than I have ever been in my life.  Would you like to know why?  Because I have the opportunity to share that love with so many people every day.  But guess what, I have some great news.... you can do it too!  Yes I am a missionary so its my life for 24 hours a day 7 days a week 18 months a year (math, who needs it:) But YOUR smile is powerful, USE IT!  I wish I could explain the dramatic change that I see in a persons face when I walk by smile and say ¨hola que tal¨ its like the world is lifted off of their shoulders.  But you have to see it for yourself.  So now for the challenge.  Will you smile at everyone you see today?  Will you do it?  or in castellano ¿lo hará? Good.  I promise that you will see a difference in those people and in your own life.  I love you all and I pray that today has been full of happiness.  If not, do something about it.....

smile - Hna. Milmont

Progress

What I know: - God answers prayers.
- Action reaps results.
- Love motivates.
- Its key to know what people feel, hear, and understand. Generally its not what you said.
- Satan is a great liar.
- I am responsible for my actions and my feelings.
- We don´t have much time.
- Its easy to start talking (everyone loves to talk).
- Sacrifice brings forth the Blessings of Heaven.
- The Scriptures have all the answers we need.
- Christ is My Savior and Head of this church.
- He guides us through a living Prophet
- The family is under attack.
- EVERYONE NEEDS THE GOSPEL!


I love you!
smile - Hna. Milmont

¿Pedro, me amas?

The question of a life time. Christ asks each of us more than we realize, ¨do you love me?¨ He asked Peter three times, and Peter answered, yes Lord, you know that I love thee. I pray you have developed a love for our Savior, He loves you so much. And how can we show our love? ¨feed my sheep, feed my lambs.¨ Why did Christ ask repeatedly? Because we forget. We get caught up in the day to day responsibilities and our spiritual opportunities go undone and pushed until tomorrow. Its an effective trap, ¨I´ll do it tomorrow¨ Recently I have found that the quickest way to get myself back on track is to ask that question as though Jesus was here with me. Asking ¨Hannah, do you love me?¨ There are sheep to be loved. I love each of you, and I know that God loves you. our Savior lives. He asks us to keep his commandments, to love one another and feed His sheep.

smile - hna. Milmont

15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

17. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.