Blessings!

Ok so I have about ten minutes to write, let's see how it goes.  This week was great!  To catch the colectivos (buses) we had to run after all of them, its pretty fun running across the road and jumping random piles of trash to catch a moving object, but it's all worth it knowing that you´ll have to wait another half hour for the next one.  We are working with a couple of families from Peru and I love seeing them as they act on the invitation to read, ponder, and pray about the things that we are teaching.  You can see in their eyes the change that the gospel is already making for them, and they aren´t even members yet.  Silvie is a girl who is searching really earnestly to know if this really is what she is looking for.  The gospel makes us happy and it is bringing happiness to her and her sisters and mother.  We are praying that as she comes closer to Christ she will understand who she is as a daughter of our loving Heavenly Father.

We did another visitors center this past Saturday.  We went to Matheu in the zona Escobar.   When we weren´t doing the tour my companion and I went outside to invite people to come and see what there was to see.  For a split second I had a birds eye view and I watched myself with amazement walking up to complete strangers and talking to them like we had known each other forever.  The changes I see in myself astound me.  As the people I teach change and grow, I do too.  We invited 3 young men to come and do the tour, they said they didn´t believe in God or Christ, but then figured they´d give it a try.  The missionaries in that area set up appointments to go teach each of them.  You can see when a desire to believe is in a person's eyes.

Last but not least.  Today we had the great blessing of going to the temple here in Buenos Aires.  There are 3 missions here in this province.  Each of them with about 180 missionaries.  25 missionaries from each mission were selected to participate in the open house of the temple before its dedication on the 9th of September.  There will be 3 weeks when the temple here will be open to the public, and my companion and I have the opportunity to help those who come to the temple understand the importance of that sacred place.  I´m so excited.  I love the temple so much.  It truly is the house of God.  When we entered its doors today, I felt as if I was entering the doors of my own home, as His daughter.  I´m so grateful to be a missionary here at this time under these circumstances. I love you all and I invite you to prepare yourselves to attend the temple and Go.  For it is one of the best places to learn what God has waiting to teach you.

Smile - Hermana Milmont

Hermana Binks, Yo, hermana Gutierrez, hermana Shelly outside the temple!!!! :) 

Hermana Binks, Yo, Hermana Allen in congresso by the obalique

Soap

One of the marvelous parts of being a missionary is that you rarely get to wash your hands...well that's not entirely true...where there is a will there is a way.  I wash my hands every chance I have which accumulates to about twice a day...three times if I'm suuuuper lucky.  Now there are three vital ingredients to this process: Water, Time, and Soap.  Without water, you have a film of sticky stuff on your hands, without soap you simply have wet hands.  And any process takes time to be truly effective.  Every night when we get home I wash my hands very thoroughly with all three because I understand what happens.  Not because my parents taught me (which they did :) but because I have experimented with it myself.  Do you want to know what color the water is which runs off of my hands with the soapy suds?  It's black.  Pretty great, huh?  And I have to wash frequently, it's not a one time thing.  I like to compare this to the atonement of Jesus Christ and the repentance process.  We have some tools that help in the process - we control whether or not we choose to accept the blessings of the atonement.  We do what we can to get rid of whatever sin or weakness we have.  Just like I have to make a conscious effort to wash my hands, walk  to the sink, turn on the water, and submerse my hands.  It takes faith to go to the Lord and ask Him for help and submerse ourselves in His will.  Next we have the soap.  It is this key ingredient that makes the small effort we make to walk to the sink worth our time.  The soap cleanses us and we are left with a sense of peace and security knowing that our health is protected (side note - here in Argentina there are many brands of soap that don't do anything - I like to call them "trucho" - which basically means counterfeit, fake, invalid) Christ is the cleaning agent for our sins, weaknesses, and trials.  We cannot go to just anyone to receive forgiveness - that can only come through preparing for and partaking of the sacrament each Sunday which is how we use the atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that is how we apply the sacrifice that He made for each of us individually.  The final ingredient is time. I feel that it's probably the hardest part of the process.  My parents taught me when I was little to sing twinkle twinkle little star, or the abc's as I washed and that would ensure that my hands were in the soap and water long enough.  It's hard to stand still that long as a little kid.  We are like children spiritually, and it's hard to truly give enough of our time to the Savior as He helps us become clean.  And it gets frustrating because we seem to need His help over and over and over again.  Similarly, we have a  constant need to wash our hands, the bacteria sometimes is the same, but varies regularly I'm sure (I'm not a Doctor so don't be too hard on my analogy:)  It's ok to mess up, that is why Christ came, but it's vital that we know to whom we must turn and do it quickly.  He is waiting.  I invite you all to read Enos chapter 1 and ponder in your hearts how you can apply this incredible gift  that your older brother has given to you.  I love you all.  Think good thoughts and good acts will follow.

Smile - Hermana Milmont

My comp hit a year...crazy

Lunch with some of our district

4 thousand invitations to the temple open house - 3 weeks - 2 missionaries - Every 1 person in our area with their own invitation

VAMOS TODAVIA!

Sweet is the Work

I Love being a missionary. I feel so blessed to have such an opportunity. It's not a cake walk, it's hard work, but every time I think ¨it can´t get any better than this¨.... it does. Throughout the mission I have come to the conclusion that every area is as hard or as easy as you believe it to be. I am reminded of a quote I saw once at a gymnastic club in Laramie that said ¨whether you think you can or you think you can´t.... you are right¨ I promise that this is true. I have been in many of the ¨hard¨ areas in Argentina. Said areas come with excuses like... the members don´t help.... no one is receptive or willing to listen to our message.... all the miracles are happening in that other area... but it couldn´t happen here. The missionaries get to this ¨unprogressive¨ area and they have to choose what they will listen to; the stereotype that has been put into place... or realize that the work has nothing to do with their area and everything to do with our attitude and our trust in the Lord. Satan tells all of us - missionaries, normal people, men, women and children - that they are creatures of circumstance being acted upon by other forces. Then we compare ourselves to the those whom we, in our limited knowledge, see as successful. And we get discouraged and give up. We are told in the scriptures to think good thoughts and good actions will follow. I am here to testify to the truth of this promise. Don´t listen to the negative thoughts put into your head, replace them! You can do Anything as you rely on the Savior. You are the CREATOR of circumstance, not the creature of circumstance. In Alma chapter 26 of the Book of Mormon the missionary Ammon says just that. That he can do all things with the Lord's help. I love you all and I pray that you strive to see the sweet in the work that you do each day. The gospel changes lives.

smile - Hermana Milmont

Calling You

 So I was reading in the scriptures a few days ago (I do it every day, but I read this particular scriptures a few days ago :) Alma is teaching his people and they have been struggling with pride and recognizing right and wrong.  At this point in the scriptures they have become pretty bad.  When I was reading I had been praying for help to recognize what I should do for this area.  No I'm not "iniquitous" but I do struggle with pride from time to time.

Alma chapter 5: verses...


 37 O ye workers of iniquity; ye that are puffed up in the vain things of the world, ye that have professed to have known the ways of righteousness nevertheless have gone astray, as sheep having no shepherd, notwithstanding a shepherd hath called after you and is still calling after you, but ye will not hearken unto his voice!


 38 Behold, I say unto you, that the good ashepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; 


Despite all of our failings, Christ loves us SOO much that he continues to call after us, no matter what our challenges are... its incredible.  But I wasn´t choosing to hear Him for a few days, feeling that He wouldn´t be calling for me specifically, and then I read this scripture.  What a great invitation to straighten up and fly right.  I love that we can change and improve every day and that our Savior never gives up on us.  These following scriptures were a profound reminder of what I am doing, why I am here, and why I came to Argentina in the first place.


43 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should hear me, for I speak in the aenergy of my soul; for behold, I have spoken unto you plainly that ye cannot err, or have spoken according to the commandments of God.


 44 For I am called to speak after this manner, according to theaholy order of God, which is in Christ Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this people the things which have been spoken by our fathers concerning the things which are to come.


This is my calling as well, and how blessed an opportunity it is.  I know that the Gospel has been restored and that Christ has established the church as He would have it be.  Its true!  I know it because I have lived it.  He lives, He loves us.  Through faith in Him, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end we can and will gain eternal life.  I love my Father in Heaven, and I´m grateful for His patience and love for each one of us.  Have a marvelous week.


I love you all


smile - Hermana Milmont

¡I'm grateful for your face!

New week, new transfer, new comp, same marvelous area. So my new companion, Hermana Binks is a star. She taught me something that makes me terribly happy, and I didn´t even know. Each night we tell each other five things that we are grateful for that happened that day. It's funny because the more I do it, the more miracles I see, and the more selective I have to be with my five grateful things. We have been doing a lot of street contacting and talking to people on colectivo (bus) and we have been stopped by several people because of my comp's face. She shines, I´m serious. It's great! And they just want to meet her, so that gives us a great way to talk about the gospel, and why we are so happy. Saturday, just before getting home, we had yet another such contact. The kid started talking to her, and of course she responded.... He was shocked... looked at me and said, pointing to her ¨she understands!¨ it was really funny. We are finding more and more people who are ready to receive the gospel. Those who have the gospel have the responsibility to share, the knowledge that the gospel in its fullness has been restored is priceless! It fills a person with such joy. And others notice it. I love the Gospel. I love my Savior, and I love being His representative here in the mission field. Think about the joy you find in the gospel, and before going to bed each night, right down 5 things that happened that day which you are grateful for. I promise it will change your life.
smile - Hermana Milmont

hermana Gonzalez se fue - hasta ver Hermanita

hermana Marchant, hermana Gulbrandsen y yo

¡¡¡P-Day eve!!! en Nuñez con hermana Allen y hermana Renteria

my new comp hermana Binks

¡le agradezco su cara!