a banana a day.... ?

Preparation and Prayer

2012-01-23T18:34:00.000-08:00

Ok so I just started the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon, which is super exciting for me because it means I am getting into the missionary chapters of the Book of Mormon. This morning I was studying in Alma chapter two and I found some really cool applications.

to give you some background, the Nephites (ancient peoples who populated the Americas and followed the teachings of Christ) are living in peace and striving to do good in their lives. Then Amlici starts going around causing contention and all sorts of problems. He creates an army and conspires to take over leadership.

now the Nephites are smart and they see what is about to go down so in verses 12-13 it reads

¨12 Therefore the people of the Nephites were aware of the intent of the Amlicites, and therefore they did prepare to meet them; yea, they did arm themselves with swords, and with cimeters, and with bows, and with arrows, and with stones, and with slings, and with all manner of aweapons of war, of every kind.

13 And thus they were prepared to meet the Amlicites (people of Amlici) at the time of their coming. And there were appointed acaptains, and higher captains, and chief captains, according to their numbers.¨

so the important thing that I noted today (but invite you to find more) was their preparation, and like them we need to prepare for those things that we know will come in life, trials, temptations and so forth. We prepare by reading our scriptures, going to church, praying etc.

then in verse 17 the Amlicites come against the Nephites, but because they are prepared ¨the Lord did strengthen the hand of the Nephites, that they slew the Amlicites with great slaughter, that they began to flee before them.¨ Likewise as we are prepared the Lord will strengthen us. Our enemies, whatever they may be, will run away from us.... after all, we are on Gods team.

continuing in the chapter there are several more battles, and the Amlicites keep losing, you would think they would get the hint. As I thought about why God put all these battles in here, with the same people, so many times. Often our trials or temptations are the same. Once we struggle with one thing, we tend to continue struggling in that specific area. And many times that difficulty or weakness brings friends. The Amlicites joined with the Lamanites (more bad guys in this case) to try and defeat the Nephites again.

¨28 Nevertheless, the Nephites being astrengthened by the hand of the Lord, having prayed mightily to him that he would deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, therefore the Lord did hear their cries, and did strengthen them, and the Lamanites and the Amlicites did fall before them.¨

So I challenge each of you to prepare yourselves, and to
pray for Gods help in whatever it is you are fighting against right now. He will deliver you and strengthen you. And the trials may come again, but as we exercise our faith and cry unto the Lord we will ultimately win the prize.

¨ 30 And it came to pass that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised with much afaith, cried, saying: O Lord, have mercy and spare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people.

31 Now when Alma had said these words he contended again with Amlici; and he was strengthened, insomuch that he slew Amlici with the sword.

I love you all, now go slay Amlici!

smile - Hermana Milmont

The Vision

2012-01-17T17:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had Zone conference and we all went to Ushuaia. Its always grand to visit old stomping grounds. One of our Area Authorities, Elder Foster, and his wife are making a tour of the mission, and we were the first stop. I learned so much about the vision of missionary work. The Goal and Vision is that the missionaries help the members do missionary work. Right now, we are the missionaries, doing the work of the Lord, and the members help us as they are able. But the vision is that the members become the missionaries and the missionaries help the members do the work. Missionaries come and go, we aren´t always going to be around to help those we teach as we can now, eventually we go home. But the members, they are consistent. You have the ability to not only help people follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptised by one holding the priesthood authority of God, but to fortify that person's testimony as they grow in the Gospel, and as their conversion continues and they endure to the end. I invite each of you to pray to our Father in Heaven and ask whom among your friends and family has been prepared to receive the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. He will answer. And then start talking to them and have the missionaries help you to bring that person into the Fold of Christ. You are the most powerful missionary, God knows you by name, and he knows the name of those you will help. So Ask! You WILL receive, I testify of that truth.

I love the mission, I love the work, I love my companion, my area and my district. But more importantly, I love my Savior Jesus Christ, and will show that love as I work to find my brothers and sisters here in Argentina. I love you all. ¡Catch the Vision!

smile - Hna. Mimont

2012-01-09T15:40:00.000-08:00

Me and my little man, Lucas

Poor Elder Gillette is now dead to us. He has served a great two year mission, learning and teaching a ton, and he's flying home tomorrow. ¡Hasta Ver!

Last day with this zone

Hna. Gutierrez and I bringing in the New Year sin alcohol (that's how they say non-alcoholic)

It's called Wind Fusion!

2012-01-09T15:30:00.000-08:00

Me and Lucas take two

¡HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012-01-02T15:18:00.001-08:00

Well things are going well, I´m feeling good, have a lot of goals and plan to achieve them all. I love new beginnings and how we can start with a clean slate. I remember one of my favorite quotes from Ann of Green Gables ¨tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it¨ and that's what the new year is like as well. We have the opportunity to evaluate ourselves. Where we were, where we are, and where we want to go. I challenge each of you do the same, and specifically look at how you can strengthen your relationship with God, your father in Heaven. And Jesus Christ, your Savior and elder brother this new, mistake free year. I love you all. Sorry I can´t write more. Some days are just crunched for time:)

smile - Hna. Milmont

Follow the Star?

2011-12-26T09:32:00.000-08:00

So this week I was thinking a lot about the three wise men, and their long journey to visit the Christ child. They being from the orient, had a very long journey ahead of them. I can´t imagine it being a particularly safe, comfortable or relaxing. More than likely it was filled with thieves, snakes, insects, sand storms, scorpions, all manner of scourge you can think of. But they pressed forward to have the opportunity to see Jesus´s face and to offer him their gifts. They had faith, and they followed the star which guided them safely to His presence.

Like them we are on a long journey filled with any number of trials, afflictions, and difficulties. Recently I received a letter from a good friend of mine. In the letter were some things that really made me think. Before this life we made the decision to follow Jesus Christ in the plan that our Father created. We agreed to come here, nurture our Faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Repent of our sins, be washed clean through Baptism, receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us, and Endure to the End so that we might see our Saviors face once more. So since we already made that choice, we need to remember it, and help others remember it. Those five steps make up the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is the star we need to follow in order to make it home to our Savior. So I challenge you to do as the three kings did, and follow that Star.

I love you all, Merry after Christmas, and have a very happy new year (all year, not just Sunday:)

smile - Hna. Milmont

2011-12-26T07:12:00.000-08:00

Christmas dinner with the Down Family. Talk about tender mercies!

Christmas Eve dinner with the Tello's

Carrari's saying goodbye to Hna. Gillum

Coming back from Ushuaia

Preparation Day in Ushuaia

2011-12-26T07:08:00.000-08:00

Zone Conference December 2011!

Graffiti in Ushuaia

Hnas. Gutierrez, Gillum, y yo

Zone Futbol!

2011-12-26T07:03:00.000-08:00

Room in the Inn

2011-12-19T12:11:00.001-08:00

So this week I have been thinking a great deal about Luke 2 in the bible, and the story of our saviors birth. I was thinking about Joseph and how he was searching for a place for he and his young wife to stay. But each household said that there was no room for them. I think about how often we get caught up in the day to day hustle and bustle, and forget the reason for this time of year. And I have been asking myself, ¨Is there room for Christ in my inn?¨ have I made the effort to keep a space specifically for him in my heart? I challenge you to ponder this in your hearts and with your families. I promise that as you focus this time on our Savior and for what he chose to do for us before the world was. He came for you! I know this, and he will wipe all your tears away, all your fears, and restore your joy, if you let him, and make room for the Savior in Your Inn.

I love you all. Have a very merry Christmas

smile - Hna. Milmont

Look unto me in that thought

2011-12-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

There are so many crazy circumstances that we find ourselves in. I have been trusted to teach a new missionary, what it means exactly to be a missionary. And it´s it tough, let me tell you. I have cried more in the past week than I have my entire mission. There are new responsibilities that I didn´t understand before. But I think the most difficult part, is seeing the incredible excitement and energy in this new sister, hna Gutierrez, that I once had. I was exactly like her, when I came out of the mtc. And I thought I had done a fairly good job at maintaining that fire... news flash... but I didn´t.

now I could have looked at this situation and gotten down on myself, and listened to the whisperings of Satan. He wants me to feel as though the missionary fire cannot be lit once the bucket of so called experience has been dumped on it. There is not an element of truth in that statement. So I chose to take that excitement that she has, and help it grow. I looked to my God and said, ¨you know Father, I don´t know that I can do this. You have given me a gift in this incredible new missionary. You are trusting me to help her unlock the power that is with in her, and frankly, me cuesta monton (I fall short). But I do know that if I rely on You, and look to You for guidance, we will be blessed.¨

So that is my challenge to you this week. When Satan is whispering negative thoughts to your heart, ask yourself ¨who wants me to feel that way, My Father, or my Enemy?¨ and give no place for the bad. Replace it with good, and look unto God, your Father, in every thought.

I love you all, have a marvelous week, and I´ll talk to you again next week... assuming I have time;)

sonreí - Hna. Milmont

ok, no time... so here is the update.

2011-11-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was AWESOME!

I'm training a new missionary, she gets here on Wednesday, I'm super stoked, and a little nervous. That's all I know, so next week there should be more to tell.

Hna. Gillum is going north sometime this week, she will be finishing the training of another new missionary in the north, and she is super excited about it.

we have learned a lot, and we will continue to do so. I love the mission, transfers are always a surprise and that's all the important stuff

I love you

smile ~ Hna. Milmont

Things I Have Remembered:

2011-11-21T16:40:00.001-08:00

-My God, my Father in Heaven, loves me with all of His heart: As I look for the tender mercies He sends, as we teach His children, I can feel the power of His love.
-I am here in Argentine, living my dream to serve Him with all that I am: My companion is approaching the end of her mission. The most recent sage advice running through my mind is this ¨remember how ready you were to leave home, to be out here, doing, saying, and acting as our Savior would if He were here. Speaking and finding your spirit brothers and sisters. Remember how happy those thoughts made you. And never lose that excitement. This time is precious. Use it as Christ would, for you are following His footsteps.
-God answers prayers: I had been struggling with knowing what to say as we teach, I had been feeling that I couldn´t possibly help these people. I was wrong. I started praying to have courage to speak, and to recognize the spirit as he spoke through us, I pray for understanding, and the guidance necessary to share the joy of this message. As I have prayed sincerely, with faith, and for faith, God has blessed me. I have received the desires of my heart, My Father, Your Father, Our Father, Answers His children. I know this.
-Miracles exist: look for them.
-Like Abraham, if I am following Gods command, He will provide: Learn what you are willing to do for God.
-Exercise helps people sleep at night: Our bodies are a gift from God, they are the housing for our spirit. Keep it healthy. Your beautiful and unique spirit needs a strong body to carry it forward.
-Acting promptly, on the promptings I receive by the spirit will show God that He can trust me: as we act we receive more promptings from Him
-Positive thinking works wonders: No matter what the circumstances, remember that it wont get better by brooding about it.
-God takes care of His children, my loved ones included: I know you are all safe in Gods arms, you can all know that I am safe.
-The scriptures hold all of the answers to life's problems: The past two weeks I have been really focusing on the Scriptures and the things that apply in my life, and the lives of those we teach. Reading 12 pages a day to finish the Book of Mormon by Christmas is giving me more answers than I ever imagined possible. The Book of Mormon is true, it is inspired, like the bible, it is Gods words for us, for you, for me.
-By Faith, all things can be accomplished: all things
-More often than not, God answers our prayers by giving promptings to others, and them acting: I want you all to ponder this. If you ever have any good thought, if anyone... and I truly mean anyone comes into your mind, do all in your power to contact them, until you find them, don´t stop looking ever, miracles are worked through your hands. I know that this is true.

Happy Thanksgiving, count your blessings, and remember the tender mercies of your Father in Heaven. I know that the Gospel is true. It changes lives.

Transfers are next week, so stayed tuned to see if I´m moving

smile - Hermana Milmont

Inspired Questions

2011-11-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

There were a great deal of emotional ups and downs this week, exacerbated by a gillion health problems that have befallen my stoic companion. and I can´t tell you about them all, because there isn´t time. But suffice it to say that things are looking up. We got pretty much 0 for all of our goals, but miraculously we had two investigators who came to church! Cesar, who is our one truly progressing said on Friday that he would be coming to church, then Saturday rolled around and he changed his mind, I think his mom had something to do with it because he is the one with the car in the family, and she wanted to go to the country side. Despite this, we called on Sunday morning to wake him up, like we said we would. His mother answered after several calls and said he wouodn´t be coming. We were crushed. He was learning so much, and enjoying it, wanting to learn more. As we got to the church, he called and asked us if we were at the church. We said yes, and he said great, I´ll see you soon. Talk about tender mercies. Our recent convert, Nati, just got a calling!!!! She is going to be the secretary for the young women in the branch! we are stoked! So that's the update for the work.

Now for the update on me, we had a meeting with our branch president and we were doing our best to not get discouraged. I´m pretty good and letting things roll of my back and moving forward, maybe I´m cold hearted or something... I don´t know. But our president asked me ¨why are you happy?¨ I hadn´t really thought about that before. But the truth is that I didn´t know the answer. I had to think about this inspired question. And I am still finding the answer. But I know that I was called to serve here in this area, because I have something that someone needs. There are people here who need to hear about the gospel from me specifically, and I am here doing My Fathers work, accepting His will. This gives me joy. What an honor it is to be a representative of Christ, and what a blessing it is to be living my dream. I have got to jet. I love you all. smile - Hna. Milmont.

Feliz Dia De Bruja!

2011-11-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

So really Halloween doesn't exist here at all, which is kind of a bummer. But we still painted our faces and terrorized each other. You may or may not know that I startle really easily and I have a slow reaction time, which is super entertaining... not so much when a dog starts running at us, hackles raised. I see him approaching in slow motion, watching my life pass before my eyes, before I register "hey that's a big dog, you should run or something" Luckily I'm a good shot with a rock. And they scare just as easily as I do. This week was interesting. Last Sunday we had so much success with our investigators, all of them came to church we taught a ton of lessons, we were following the spirit, and we were feeling like things here in the chacra branch and looking more and more up each week. Then this week happened, and each of our investigators told us that they didn't want us to come back ever again. This was a big blow to us. We have yet to figure out the meaning for this, but we are doing our best to focus of moving forward. Such is the life of the missionary. But something that I am slowly re-learning, is that we control how we act about any given situation. Just like a succor punch, this hit us right where it counts. So now it is up to us to show satan that we will not let anything discourage us. God has our back, and there is no one better to have as our support. At the same time it is really easy to doubt oneself, your testimony, the thing that you thought you knew were true. This happened to me, luckily I have an incredible companion, hna Gillum, who has the uncanny ability to talk sense to me. Once upon a time, I had an unshakable testimony. I could handle anything and everything that happened to me. Because I knew that God was my Father and Jesus Christ was my Savior. Here on the mission I have faced much harder things than I ever did at home. And without being able to talk it through with my parents like I used to. This caused me to think that I must be losing my testimony of the truth. But now I know that is not the case. I have not lost it, it may even have grown. The difference is simply that my knowledge of the truth was sufficient for my past trials. But as strong as it was, my challenges now are different. Like a tree must grow rings to fortify itself with each storm that comes, I must also grow a new layer of my testimony, for I am in a new situation. Growing pains are just that, a pain, but at the end we will look down and see just how far we have come. I love you all, have a wonderful week and don't get discouraged when things seem to be more than you can handle. You are simply learning a new way to rely on God. Remember that you know enough and check out this marvelous talk http://lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/you-know-enough?lang=eng Stay safe.

Smile - Hna Milmont

2011-11-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

Me and My Ghost

I Smell like Kool Aid 1

Feliz Dia de Bruja!

The Italian Juices come out, the girl can cook!

First there were four...

2011-11-01T16:05:00.000-07:00

...and then we ate one.

I smell like Kool Aid!

Me Caí, y Ella me RESCATÓ

2011-10-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

When I was about 3 years old, my family went to a pool, i can´t remember where, but it was out doors and it was really hot outside. I had yet to learn how to swim, so I was playing on the stairs in the pool, where I could touch the bottom and not have any problems. But all of my siblings were having so much fun in the deep end, and I thought for sure that if I tried hard enough I could swim and play with them. So of course you know what happened. I fell.

Now lets look at this situation. Were my desires bad? No. Did I know how to obtain those desires? No. Those who don´t have the knowledge of the gospel are like I was as a little girl. I didn´t have the knowledge or equipment to swim, but I wanted to be with my siblings. They don´t have the knowledge to be with their family for all eternity, but they want to be with them.

Luckily by mom was watching me and rescued me from drowning. She is like those of us who have the gospel. It was her responsibility as my mother to save me. Like wise, it is our calling to share the gospel with our spiritual family, so that they too might be saved.

There was more to my talk yesterday, but we are short on time, so you only get the best stuff. Hope you like it. Love you all. nos vemos

smile - hna. milmont

I can breath!

2011-10-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

Transfers came and went and I am in the same area! its a miracle! Yesterday was mothers day in Argentina (Happy mothers day Mom:) and it was pretty nerve wracking for us mortals. Our mission president said that he would be white washing a few areas. A white wash in missionary terminology is when both members of the companionship are taken out of an area, and replaced with a completely different companionship, talk about starting in the deep end. This doesn't happen very often, but it is not unheard of... So waiting for the phone call to break the news was anything but calm. But my incredible companion, hna Gillum and I get a least one more transfer together. I cannot express how excited I am!!! ;) There is still so much to learn and we have finally gotten the hang of things here in chacra.

Most of you know how much I love to smile. It is one of the things that keeps me going when things get rough. Missions are hard, but I would not trade this experience for anything. Its worth all the joy and all the pain. There are days when we get home and no one had listened to Gods messege, and then there are days when we are able to teach every person we see. And then you look back on everything, you see where and who you were, and its a huge surprise. It is almost hard to recognize yourself, because of all the growth that has taken place. Like infants, the rate of growth is so fast. Each week if not every day they look a little different.

Currently I am an infant in the gospel, but I am learning and growing so much. I find that sometimes I get down on myself for not doing everything right. I know, I know... it crazy to have an expectation for perfection. Because I am going to mess up, its that simple, and so are you. But that is the beautiful thing... we get to learn from our mistakes. Christ suffered everything and conquered everything so that we can make mistakes and then repent and grow. So I challenge you, get up and dust yourself off, then try again. Every time you fall Reach out to God and He will grab your hand, lift you higher than you were before. When Nephi was getting down on himself, he realized that he could put his chin up and smile. He said - I know is whom I have trusted, my God hath been my support (2 nephi 4:19-20) Awake my soul! no longer droop in sin. Rejoice O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul (28) - I imagine that he had been in tears, but as he trusted in God, he felt His love, and smiled.

I love and pray for you all everyday, stay safe and trust in God, your Heavenly Father. ¡nos vemos!

SMILE! - Hna. Milmont

2011-10-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

Almuerzo con la familia Orona

Nati

2011-10-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago we were still getting to know all of the members in this area, and we were looking for the home of one of the families in our branch. While we were looking, there was a very tall man in a thick jump suit, covered with black oil stains (he looked like Dick Van Dyke as a chimney sweep) that came out of his work shop, and of course we greeted him and then asked if he knew where this family lived. He did, and then he asked us if we were the same as the chicos that walk around with name tags. We explained that there have not been sisters in this area before and we asked about his beliefs. It turns out that he was baptized with his family about 15 years ago, but then later just stopped going. He then proceeded to tell us about his daughter, who was too young to be baptized at the time. She is 21 now, and he wanted us to talk to her.

She was in her room, listening to music and talking to God. Asking Him to put something new. Something that would help her know what her purpose was. Something that would give her hope in this life. And then her Dad walked in and said that there were two missionaries who wanted to talk to her. She thought for a few minutes and then came down the stairs.

We didn´t talk for very long because we had an appointment, but we got to know her and what her interests were. One of her interests was music. My marvelous companion and I are both music lovers and Hermana Gillum had recently discovered that I have some talent in the vocal area, and she told them, and then Nati asked me to sing something. At first I felt embarrassed, but then my thoughts crystallized. ¨Wait a second, I am myself when I sing, that is my comfort zone... so I shouldn´t have a problem with this¨ so I sang ´Redeemer of Israel´ because that's the first thing to came to my mind.

Nati told us later that it was in those few moments of getting to know her, and then the feeling that she had as I sang, that told her that we had been sent from God.

The following weeks teaching her were Horrific. Everything went wrong. Each lesson was fantastic, but everything in between was really difficult. She has been so prepared to follow the example of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. But the rough thing about those who have been prepared.... Satan knows it. He does everything in his power to stop them from progressing. Her family are alcoholics, and live the party life style. Her mother works against what the gospel teaches. Teaching in her home is like pulling chains. As missionaries we are more sensitive to the spirit and the influence of satan is very strong in her house. She works in a Fabrica, which is like a labor factory, and things there are constantly bringing her down. I have yet to see satan working so actively against a person. I think I have said that before, but I honestly feel that he is rallying his forces against us.

In our first lesson with Nati, she said she wanted to serve a mission.... this from a girl who has only talked to us once. What faith she has. She wanted to get baptized. She knew that what we have will change her life for the better. So we taught her.

While planning her baptism everything went wrong. The opposition was intense, and satan was working on us, to discourage us, in our companionship. But we talked about it and were able to rely on the spirit. We knew that God wanted this for her. And all of the elders in our zone, our mission leader, and out branch presidency did everything in our power to bring this to pass. And all the challenges with transportation, with time, with the font, with her family, with logistics, everything... worked out at the veeeeeeeeerrrrry llllaaaaaast second. It was like once we finally entered the church, God took over.

The spirit was so strong as we began her baptismal service. She felt the love that God, our Father in Heaven, has for her. Specifically. As she entered the waters we were all filled with the joy that comes, knowing that one more of Gods precious children has begun their journey back home, to Him. All of the sins, the pain, the trials have been washed away. She felt it. She felt the weight of the world lift from off of her shoulders, and she said. ¨I have never felt a peace like this.. ever¨

Yesterday, she was confirmed and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Which will be her constant companion as she continues on this path to better her life. And then she bore her pure and powerful testimony that this Gospel changes lives.

She is right. Through the Gospel; Faith, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and then Enduring to the end, we can be healed, and have confidence that all things will work out for our good.

I know this to be true. I am living it every day, and learning more and more how my life, the life of my companion, the lives of those we teach, we´ve taught, and have yet to teach can and will change through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. I love you all. Study the Scriptures and invite others to come unto Christ. ¡Nos vemos!

Sonreí - Hermana Milmont

2011-10-10T16:20:00.001-07:00

Natalia's baptism!

Nati and E. Filney

A little of my area

Bubbles!

2011-10-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

Fernando esta volando!

Hna. Gillum, Nati, Me, E. Christensen, Hno. Isasi, E. Lemo

No Hay Probelema - Alfi

Sunshine on our shoulders

Me and Hna. Gillum

¡General Conference!

2011-10-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

Every 6 month in the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints, we have a world wide conference. During this conference, the Prophet of God and the Apostles all speak to the members of the church through satellite. Giving us the Guidance that we need in these precious moment of our lives. I love this amazing opportunity to hear the inspired people, give us this incredible council.

1st things 1st. During each conference, the construction of new temple´s is announced. As our prophet was speaking, preparing to announce the Temples that would begin constructions, I was praying in my seat, surrounded by the other six missionaries in our Zone. ¨Wyoming...Wyoming....Wyoming...Wyoming...Wyoming...

And then he said it, ¨Star Valley Wyoming¨ I lept from my seat, my notes went flying, the metal chair squeaked on the tile floor, and I did a good ol´ 1 2 in the air. Grinning, I look at the rest of my Zone, and its like I was from a different planet. Yes I could have behave with more propriety, but there was no containing the elation that I felt with those blessed words, I wanted to scream.

This will be the first, and not the last temple in my home state. Yes I am far away, but it doesn´t change the joy I feel for this marvelous work which is indeed moving forward, Nothing can stop the work of God.

I have more to tell you but my time is about up, so stay tuned for the update on the newest member of Gods team who was baptized last night, Nati. She is amazing!

I love you all, Choose the right, and be safe. ¡nos vemos!

Sonreí - Hna. Milmont

2011-10-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

2011-10-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

Its Windy

2011-09-19T16:27:00.000-07:00

So I´m finally here in the Chacra branch of Rio Grande. We´re little, but we are going to grow. The members who are active are incredible and I am so excited to work with them. I´m afraid I don´t have a great deal to say this week. We have already seen miracles here, and I pray that they will continue.

I´m learning how important it is to stay focused on the Lord and on his children. It is so easy to be distracted and when we are distracted we are not effective instruments in the Lords hands. Growing up there was a quote on our fridge that said

¨a distraction does not have to be evil to be effective¨ -Neal a Maxwell

So I have been pondering that for the past few days, and its been interesting to see how bad things go when we are focused on those things which are not expedient. It is crucial to do the small and simple things. Because it is by those things that grate things can happen. And if there is any area that needs great things to happen in the Buenos Aires North Mission , it is Chacra.

When we do what the Lord asks, he has to give us blessings, we have that promise, but if we don´t the promise will fail.

I pray that each of your are able to feel the love of the Lord as you do that which he asks. God loves you.

Sonreí - Hna Milmont

Man, it´s Chile

2011-09-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

So I have a funny story this week. Last Monday night my new companion
arrived along with the new companion of Hermana González. It was
super late, and there really is very little space in our apartment.
The kitchen, the bathroom, and the room where we eat, sleep, study,
plan, etc. all would fit in my younger brother's bedroom. So we all
got super cozy as we slept on the floor:)

The next day, Hna. Guillum and I took off for Rio Grande. I learned
so much from her in the 3 hour ride, and I´m stoked to be her companion
for the next how ever long. About 30 minutes after our arrival, we
got a phone call saying that the sisters were going back to Ushuaia.
15 minutes after that we learned that just Hna. Guillum would be
headed back, and that I was going to Rio Gallegos to be Hna. Salva´s
companion until her comp arrived (Visa issues with Peru).

In the mean time, I spent the rest of the day with the married couple
missionaries, and I learned about making fideos (noodles) with the
relief society (the women's organization of the church that provides
help and support to those in need). My Italian roots thoroughly
enjoyed it.

And then bright and early the next day I got on the Austral (greyhound
type bus) and left for Chile. And it looks just like home. Funny how
places are so similar in various parts of the world. I Crossed the
border, hit up customs twice (to leave Argentina and to enter Chile)
took a million photos, ate a super smushed peanut butter sandwich
(which was heavenly.. they don´t have that kind of wonderful here, it
was a gift from the missionary couple), talked about the Gospel of
Jesus Christ and missionary work with the man sitting next to me. Got
on a ferry to cross the straits of Magellan (I have no idea how to
spell that) here its called Magallanes, stopped at customs 2 more
times, arrived in Rio Gallegos and got strait to work once more. And
I did all of this in Spanish, que capa soy:)

And now I´m supposedly getting on a plane to Ushuaia tomorrow, and
then a Convi to Rio Grande once again. I can do this because Hna.
Salva´s companion arrived on yesterday. All through out this
experience I was able to learn just how capable we are as children of
God, to accomplish the things that we don´t feel we can accomplish,
the hard things. I am so grateful for His love and guidance in my
life. and now it´s time to take off. ¡Nos Vemos!

Me Voy!

2011-09-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

So I have been in the wonderful Ushuaia for 8 weeks, and now I have to say goodbye. Do you remember in my last email? I talked about how we need to see ourselves as God see´s us? Well, its funny how the Lord makes us put in to action the things that we learn. Tomorrow morning I will be taking a convi (huge passenger van) to Rio Grande to open a new area. There havn´t been sister missionaries there yet, or if there have been it´s been ages because no one can remember.

We find out on the last Sunday of each transfer (6 weeks) who is staying, and who is going, and I was positive that I would be here through December, because that has always been the trend. I don`t think there are many who have been here for less than 6 months, and I have the record for sisters, with only two months!

So when our zone leaders ( the missionaries who take care of the details for the missionaries in their area) called and said that I would be leaving, I thought they were joking... well nope.

Its hard to understand why the Lord sends us to certain areas. Currently I am having a hard time feeling adequate. I have been in Argentina for a little under 3 months, so I am barely ¨un green¨ I don´t have any idea how to open a new area. But I´m trying to remember to see my self as God see´s me.

God has an incredible amount of trust and confidence in each of us. Although we cannot understand His vast amount of love and patience, we can feel it. Right now I´m nervous, excited, hungry (it´s lunch time;) and praying a TON! I´m sad to leave the people here. I love them so much. But I will miss my companion Hermana González, whom I love dearly, the most.

As I pray, I feel the comfort that my Father in heaven is giving me, and I know that everything will be great.

I love you all, be safe and remember the confidence that our Heavenly Father has in each of you.

Sonreí - Hna. Milmont

The Little Stomach

2011-08-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

So my companion is wonderful, she is an amazing missionary, and loves everyone but she does have one fault, its true. Her stomach is the size of a golf ball. This can cause a lot of problems because people pile our plates pretty high. She also can´t handle much red meat. Also an issue here in Argentina, because EVERYONE eats red meat!

We have been trying to devise a plan that will decrease the amount of food that she has too eat. First we tried to eat really slow, so they wouldn´t give us more food as they got seconds for themselves. But this doesn´t work because they give us more food anyway, and then we are late for our next appointment. And that's the only idea that we had... so I, having a larger stomach (as of now), have started eating her red meat, and any food that she can´t finish. She cuts up whatever she can´t handle and then, when our host isn´t looking, I spear as many pieces as possible on my fork and start chewing. Therefore, she doesn´t get sick, the members don´t get offended, and I get my share of blessing. I pray for health and healing every night. That way I can handle any afflictions of the stomach that come my way. I can´t say it´s my favorite solution, but if I can help, I will.

As I do this I think about the challenges that each of us have in life. We confront them, and sometimes it is more than we can handle. It is then that we learn to rely on the savior and the sacrifice that he made for each of us. Its probably an irreverent comparison, but its applicable. Christ does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, He does it because He loves us. And I help my companion do what she cannot do for herself, because I love her. I pray that you are all doing well, and that you aren´t eating too much;) Nos Vemos

Sonreí - Hna. Milmont

2011-08-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

Presidente y Hermana Gulbrandsen and our zone/district

The amazing winter supplies from my incredible mother have arrived!

el Fin del Mundo!

See As We Are Seen

2011-08-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

One of the follies of men is our uncanny ability to doubt, ourselves and others. Too often we choose to see ourselves and others at their worst. When God and Jesus Christ, who know all of our weaknesses and shortcomings, always sees us at our best.

At some point this week I was reading about Thomas. Good old _____ Thomas. Can you fill in the blank? I´m sure you can. We all know him as doubting Thomas. Thomas at his worst. In John Chapter 20 verse 29, Christ says that because he could see with his eye´s, he believes that Christ has resurrected. And blessed are they that have not seen and yet believe.

All of us pass judgement on Thomas each time we say doubting Thomas. So how often do we pass judgement on ourselves? I would venture to say that we do it a lot. There is another reference to Thomas in John 11:16. Christ is going to return to Bethany to see the body of Lazarus, but the disciples don´t like the idea because there are those waiting to harm Christ and perhaps kill him. Knowing this Thomas says ¨Let us also go, that we may die with him¨

Who is Thomas? Doubting Thomas ? or faithful, loyal, willing to die for Christ Thomas? I think he is the latter. I also think that each of us are the latter. I challenge each of you to see yourself as God sees you, see as you are seen, know as you are known.

At Your Best.

Sonrei - Hna Milmont

2011-08-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

Us, right now!

Four of our elders

Snow! In August! Que Barbaro!

2011-08-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

La Familia (minus Hno. Maxi)

Bruises are so much better in real life, it was really a lot uglier than this!

The Faith to Drop

2011-08-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

There comes a point in every missionaries life where they have to drop an investigator (the person ¨investigating¨or learning about the gospel). This is necessary when they are no longer wanting to learn. They stop keeping commitments, start avoiding us, stuff like that. Or we just can´t find them.

One such person was Sergio. My companion found him when she was street contacting about a 2 months ago. He was incredibly sensitive to the spirit. In other words he was ¨Golden¨, this terminology is used when a person is just soaking in what the spirit has to teach, everything makes sense to them and they can´t wait to learn more. He could feel the truth of the Gospel. We taught him for about two weeks, and then.... he went on vacation. We have been trying to find him since.

Finally we had to drop him. This was so hard, because we knew that he was ready for the Gospel and the great blessing that it would be in his life. But we decided to trust that God would make sure Sergio had the opportunity to accept the Gospel in the future.

Two days later, we were going ¨Arriba¨ (the highest part of our area) and of all people, we crossed paths with Sergio! We were stoked! of course we began to teach once more. He decided that he wanted to be baptized on the 20th of August. But something made me and my companion feel that he needed to take that step sooner. During weekly planning we planned to teach Sergio the lessons as if he would be baptized that coming weekend

On Thursday we asked if he wanted to be baptized sooner. He asked if we thought he was ready. We told him to pray about it. And promised, as representatives of Jesus Christ that God would answer.

Hno. Sergio, Change his baptismal date! He was baptized on Saturday and he is so happy. his countenance is brilliant! He is a very punctual person, which doesn´t happen often in our experience. So of course he was the first person at the church, an it was still locked. He had the opportunity to run. But at his baptism he shared with us his experience, and said ¨I decided that I was ready at this time to follow the example of Christ, to take this first step towards eternal life!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives! I challenge you to let it change yours. I love you all! ¡Nos Vemos!

Sonrei - Hna Milmont

2011-08-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

S O C K S spells Socks!

Las Montanas

Always Remember Him!

Mi Habitacion!

Knee Deep and Sinking :)

2011-08-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

At this point I have become accustomed to the climate and the people, different customs and lots of... subir.. hiking, climbing? We work on a mountain face, therefore I receive my share of exercise. One day, this past week, we were crossing what had been a puddle, but had since frozen over... of so I thought. I thought wrong, the ice broke, and my left leg, up to my knee was thoroughly soaked. Luckily we only had 2 hours left until our day was over. But that's not all. We had a great lesson with a family, and an appointment set for the next day. We left the home and I was so excited! Not thinking (it was dark at this point) I ran down to the road, and of all places to plant my foot, a large puddle was the prime candidate. You would think I would learn my lesson. It was valuable, and I plan to proceed with more caution.

As I was pondering this experience I thought of the phrase ¨knee deep¨. It is the first part in becoming immersed in anything. For the past few months of my life I have been knee deep in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Children of God. I decided somewhat recently that knee deep is not enough. I need to be completely submerged in the work of the Lord. I need to be 100% focused on those that the Lord has prepared to receive the gospel. Each soul has the right to receive it and these moments of service in ushuaia are precious. My calling is to give them that chance. Since understanding this, I have been able to open my mouth and forget my shortcomings.

I know that through My Savior, Jesus Christ, I can and will conquer all of life's challenges. Through Him, I can repent, improve, grow and return to live with my Father in Heaven. God loves each of us and for that reason He called a prophet, Joseph Smith to restore the Gospel of Jesus Christ once more upon the earth. That same prophet translated the Book of Mormon, which testifies that Jesus is the Christ, and that through His Gospel; faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end - each of Gods children can be save. We have a living prophet today - Tomas S. Monson - who carries out the will of the Lord here on the earth. I love this Gospel and the opportunity to share it.

Sonreí - Hna. Milmont

2011-08-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

Hna. Gonzalez y yo

My first snowfall in Argentina!

My District:
Back: E. Arrowchis, E. Gonzalez, Hna. Gonzalez, yo
Front: E. Amasio, E. Bradshaw

Members visiting from Buenos Aires!

2011-07-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

2011-07-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hna. G's introduction to to the American tradition of S'mores!
Our alfajores - Aren't they pretty!

My introduction to the Argentine tradition - Alfajores

Bueno, Vamos a Lavar los Platos

2011-07-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

We experienced a great miracle this week with one of the families that we are working with. We have been teaching two of the daughters who are members but have not been to church in a long time. Their father is a member but their mother is not. And the spirit in the home is tense for the majority of the time. But yesterday we had an appointment to teach in their house. Almost everyone was home, and they were all distracted with various things. They weren’t interested in listening... so we asked what if they needed help with anything.

Generally when we ask this, people say, "no hermanas, todo esta bien." Which is ridiculous, because we are here to serve... anywho, Stef said we could do the dishes!!!!! We were stoked because there were a ton of dishes; I doubt they had been washed in the last 3 weeks. As we worked, one by one, the children joined in cleaning and we could feel the tension dissipate, the house started to feel like a home as we were all unified. We cleaned the entire room (the kitchen, living room, dinning room, are basically the same. There’s a lot crammed in there, therefore, there’s a lot of potential for clutter). When we finished, the entire family gathered around the table to hear our message about the Love of God and how much he wants to communicate with His children. He does this as we pray, read the scriptures and attend church. We Challenged each of them to read a verse a day, and they all said yes... except for the mom, but she invited us to eat dinner with them, which has never happened before. She never liked the missionaries; however we are going over to paint on Wednesday!

It is such a testimony to me that people can feel the love of God and of Jesus Christ as we serve. The parents of this family did not want anything to do with us prior to this experience, but they saw our actions and realized that they aren’t a project. They are Children of God and we are here because we love them. In the Book of Mormon, we learn about Ammon and how his service affected kind Lamoni. So great was the impact that he began to be ¨Astonished¨ (In all the Book of Mormon, that phrase only appears in Alma 17 and 18, I challenge you to study those chapters) Like King Lamoni and his servants, this Family was astonished, and the spirit touched their hearts.

Things are looking up from the bottom of the world;) I pray that all of you are doing well. Always look for the miracles in your life, and remember them. Seek for opportunities to help God work miracles in the lives of others. ¡Nos Vemos!

Sonrei Vos - Hna. Mimont

El Fin del Mundo

2011-07-18T17:29:00.000-07:00

The phone call from the office Elders came as a bit of a shock last Monday. I was fairly certain I would be in Tigre for the entire transfer (the mission is divided into 6 week periods, each period is called a transfer and there was only 2 weeks left in the transfer). I left at 4:30 Tuesday morning and spent the next 14 traveling to la Tierra del Fuego. I have no clue why it’s called that, fuego means fire, and it is definitely not warm here. But I can drink the water, so that’s exciting:) My new Companion is Hermana Gonzalez. She hails from Chile and has 7 months is the mission, I already have 3.5! Crazy how time flies. It’s gorgeous here and I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to serve the people here. Black ice is everywhere and we’re always climbing, therefore my most recent temporal goal is to maintain my footing.

This morning I was studying in 1 Nephi chapter 15 verse 11. There are three brothers, Laman, Lemuel and Nephi, in a tent. The first two are trying to figure out what their dad just said. Sometimes I feel that way, like I don’t have a clue. Many times we are told things and we do not understand what was meant. We are prompted to do something and we don’t know why. We have rules that we don’t understand. And it’s easy to lose sight of the main purpose of these things. It’s easy to get distracted and forget the blessings of God in our lives. But because we have a loving Heavenly Father, we have the opportunity to repent and try again. Nephi tells us that we need to remember to keep the commandments so that when we ask for help, for clarification, for strength, for the ability to focus, and for the knowledge to be effective instruments in the Lords hands, we can receive these things.

There are 9 hours of light here, and my trial is staying focused when it’s dark, because we are out working in the dark. We’re exercising and getting ready from 7am-8am. Studying from 8am-11am. Out working from 11am -10pm and lights out at 11pm. The life of a missionary is definitely a handful. But when we focus on the people we are teaching, the time goes quick. And we lose ourselves. It’s an incredible feeling, its 10 o’clock and the day is gone, but more people have the gospel because we were focused. When we see the big picture, when we understand our purpose in this life, we can feel secure. I love it here, I love the people, I love the work, I love God and I love you. ¡Nos Vemos!

Sonrei - Hna. Milmont

Go and DO!

2011-07-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

The irony of a mission is that you do soooo many things in so little time, that you don’t really know what to share. So many miracles happened this week. And I want to share them all, but I don’t have the time. Don’t worry; I’m being faithful to my journal.

This week we taught several people that had not wanted anything to do with us for the past forever. Patricia was one of those. This week we were on our way to an appointment in her neighborhood, and we stopped just to say hi. And instead of brushing us off, she invited us in to talk. It was amazing how her attitude different her attitude was.

One thing we do as missionaries is listen. As we listen we can understand the person more fully and learn which aspect of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that they need at that moment. EVERY time they say something that the Gospel relates to, Every time. Whether it be how much they love their families or how they are looking for hope I this sad world. They many not say what they are looking for. But we can know because they will speak of what’s important to them. And as we spoke together we found so many things that we could testify of. She spoke the most about healing, and how Christ heals his people.

This is something that I love. I know that Christ heals us. As we Repent and use the Atonement we are healed. When we were finished with our visit we invited her to come to church with us. And she seemed really excited about it. We asked if we could call her on Sunday morning to wake them up so they’d be ready when we arrived. They said of course. And as we left they said ¨see you Sunday¨

Fast forward: it is Sunday morning, we are walking to their home, and we call to wake them up. Her son answers and says she is not home. My heart sinks. At this moment we had to decide whether to go anyway or start walking to church. This is not a proud moment for me. One of my companions thought Patrica was home, and that we should go anyway. I however, did not want to show up at their house and no one be there.

In Moroni chapter 7 it talks a lot about the spirit of God and how its invites us to do good continually. Conversely the spirit of the Devil invites us to not do good continually. At that moment Satan was inviting me to NOT go to their house. And I was falling for it. But we were all torn so I suggested that we pray. After which, I still wanted to not go. Luckily my companions are better than I (I’m learning) and they decided that we needed to go to her home. So we did.

Apparently after her son hung up, she asked him who it was, and was upset that he did not give her the phone. She was sick, which was his reasoning. But she still wanted to come. And when we showed up, she was excited. We waited for her to get ready, then she, and 2 of her daughters came with us to church. I’m so grateful for my companions and their ability to DO good.

Ironically, we three were speaking in church yesterday, and yours truly spoke on the atonement and healing.

So my Goal is to always do as the Spirit directs. And it’s easy to know. Good thoughts come from God and Good things happen when we take action.

I love you all, and I pray that you are safe. ¡Nos Vemos!

Sonrei vos - Hermana Milmont

They WILL Understand Me

2011-07-04T15:02:00.001-07:00

One of the hardest things about being Hermana Milmont is the knowlege that I am an incredibly out gowing person, and yet, I am verbally handicapt. This Kills me! I have so much love for each of the people we work with and so many thoughts and feeling that I wish to express. My heart is trying so heart to connect with our investigators, but the words are a perverbial jumbalia. This is a titan of a challenge for me. Its discouraging when you have this incredible messege, and you want to share it so badly, it is urgent that each of God´s children recieve this Gospel!

I want to talk to everyone, and I am still learning that when I give the words that I cannot speak to the Lord, he can and will use them to help those who have yet to recieve the gospel. In the schripture it is amazing how many times the word will appears. ¨Äsk and ye will receve, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened¨ (John 16:23-24) When you have need, and do your part, He will do that which is requested of Him. Towards the end of this scripture, is seems that Lord is saying ¨but you havent asked me! why havn´t you asked? I´m waiting to answer! waiting to help!¨ ¨I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say¨(DyC...?)

Therefore, we are commaned to ask things of God. To ask if things are true, to ask for spiritual gifts, to ask for strenth and faith. He wants us to grow and develope, and he wants to help us do that. He´s our Father and He loves us, so why dont we let him help? I can´t answer that for you. My fear is that my request is too grand of a task. We can´t really comprehend how our Father in Heaven works. Too aften I put Him into a box, and say ¨there is only so much that can be done in this box¨. These thoughts break His heart. He yerns to gives us support. His abuility cannot be contained. He can do all things, and my grand tasks are simple for Him.

This week we taught David and his mother Nanci. My grand task was that David and Nanci would understand me. In each lesson, every time I open my mouth, David starts smiling to himself, and I could not, for the life of me, figure out why. It took several lessons to descover the source of humor. He said it´s not my accent, and he´s not even laughing at me. He said he knows how much I want to share the messege, he can tell by how hard I´m trying. As I struggle to bear my testimony, he knows how much I love this Gospel, because if I didn´t, I would not be trying. And he smiles because he can feel that I love him enough to ignore my obstacle. That changed my perspective. Here I was feeling sorry for myself because I couldn´t get through a lesson without David chuckling at me. But now, I can better appeciate how the Lord can take my weaknesses and make them strenths, David probaby didn´t understand much of what I said, but he understood me, and he felt the spirit.

David has been reading the Book of Mornon and loves it, he has prayed to ask if it is true and the Lord has answered him through the Holy Spirit. He has come to church twice and wants to be baptized. I can see the difference it has made in his life. He was a much sadder person when we first taught him, but now he finds joy in following the spirit.

The Gospel changes lives. I can see it. I pray that you might also strive to take your grand tasks to the Lord. Let him help you. So that through you, the spirit can touch many lives. I love you all. ¡Nos Vemos!

Sonrei - Hermana Milmont

2011-07-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

Hna. Pena, Hna. Milmont, Hna. Whitehead

Eating Locro

tigre week 2

2011-06-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

¡No TEMERE!

Its amazing to me how the Lord puts things in our lives to see if we are paying attention to our blessings. When this happens I feel like the Lord is testing me. Almost poking fun, ¨with all the tenderness of a loving parent¨ (1 nephi 8:37) saying ¨do you remember when I helped you do this? Do you remember that Gift I gave you? How have you used that gift? I didn´t give it so you could forget it.¨ The Lord has a purpose for just about everything, and I have yet to discover most of them, but I´m trying.

My most recent goal is to understand that I don´t have all the answers, and that Heavenly Father does. In 1 nephi 9:3 nefi is talking about the scriptures, and how they have a ¨special purpose.¨ in verse 4 he tells us that He knows it is for a ¨wise purpose¨... ¨which purpose, I know not¨ but he continued to keep the commandments. So the first step is to understand that we don´t understand, the 2nd step is to move forward, doing what God asks and the 3rd step is to trust that everything will be great, not just good, but great:) and when we do these things eventually we come to realize that God ¨prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men¨(vers 6) Have you ever wondered why 1st and 2nd nephi are at the beginning of the Book of Mormon? Well I´ve figured it out. How many times have you read up to the isaiah chaptures and then stopped because Isaiah is a tough nut to crack? There are so many incredible lessons in these first books. And God knew that we would read those pasages over and over and over again. He, knows waht He´s doing. I challenge you to study them.

I love the truth and peace that comes from knowing I can trust my Father in Heaven. I´m relying on Him a lot. I see so many blessings as I serve the people here. I love learning about them, and feeling love for them. I can´t understand what they say yet, but I can feel what they mean. And my heart is filled. I´m leaning the importance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the vital part it has in the His gospel. Also how peace can be ever present when things are difficult. In John 14:27, Christ is telling us that He is leaving peace with us. That peace is the Holy Gost, and his calling is to guide and comfort us. As missionaries we testify of Christ and His Gospel, but the Spirit carries the messege into their souls. In the previous verse we are told that the Spirit will bring all things to our remeberence. The thing that he has brought to my rememberence repeatedly through out my life, and here as a missionary is that Christ will never leave us helpless, thats why He left the Spirit with us. He won´t abandon us, His family. We need to always remember that. And always remember Him, as we strive to be like Him.

I love My Savior, He is my light, and I will not fear. In our pencion (apartment) there is an old sign left by another missionary that reads ¨Dios es mi luz, y no temere¨ I like it better in spanish because it´s saying ¨God is my light, and I WILL not fear¨ thats beter than asking ¨why I should fear?¨ I don´t know when I´ll be leaving Tigre. I´m going south, so as soon as the airport is open for me, I´ll be heading out, i´m kind of on stand by. But until then, I love it here. Its freezing, but the bread is good. Trust in the Lord, let the Spirit be with you and remember you are never alone. ¡Nos Vemos!

Sonrei - Hermana Milmont

2011-06-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Back: E.'s Church, Hansen, Castillo, Middaugh,

LeBaron, and Hess

Front: E.'s Frost, Lewis, Hna. Milmont, E.'s Maddox, Bell

2011-06-27T14:07:00.000-07:00

me and my elders; our happy feet

tigre: week 1

2011-06-20T13:04:00.001-07:00

Sink or Swim

Getting to Argentina was probably the most stressful experience to date. Luckily, my ability to cope with stress was at its best for the past week. When we arrived in Atlanta it didn´t take us long to discover that the flight to Buenos Aires was cancelled due to volcanic ash in the air. The next flight was not until thursday night. All 28 of us, me being the token Hermana once more, divided ourselves into three groups. Each group was assigned to one of the following missions: Atlanta, Atlanta North, and Makan(sp?). I spent the first three days in the fields of the Atlanta Mission. It was a humbling experience. The sisters I was assigned to had a full schedule of teaching appointments, but alas, each cancelled. I have become very familiar with tracting. I´ve always known that the best way to do missionary work is through the members, but I could never truly appreciate that truth until now. Despite the blistering heat and high percentage of humidity, I loved it. However, its got nothing on Argentina.

We arrived at 8:15am in Buenos Aires, I´ve been adjusting since. Currently I´m in a trio with Hermana Peña, who has one transfer left y Hermana Whitehead who is one transfer old (one transfer = 6 weeks). We are assigned to a area called Tigre currently, I´m supposed to go elsewhere , but because the planes are iffy, I´m here until further notice.

The things that have had the greatest impact on me are the humble circumstances of these people, their faith, and how I can only teach if I´m relying on the spirit. We have taught many lessons in the past 3 days, and there is a distinct difference between the lessons where I´m preoccupied about the language and when let the spirit help me. I know that the hearts of these people are touched by the spirit, whether or not my spanish is correct. Currently I have two choices. I can make excuses for why I´m not perfect, why my spanish is lame why I ¨can´t¨ teach well, and slowly sink. Or I can realize that I wont be perfect ever, my spanish will improve and I can teach provided I am worthy of the companionship of the Spirit and swim (metaphorically of course:) I have been called to teach the Gospel of Christ to His people. The Lord Qualifies whom he calls. I will really on the spirit.

The first day here, we went strait to work, and I was so tired that I had no choice but to rely on the spirit, because of this my spanish was great. Day two rolled around and I started making excuses at the start of lessons for how poorly I spoke spanish. When I expressed these feelings I was doubting the spirit and His ability to work with my little spanish. Those lessons were not as successful. When we rely on God and on the Spirit, we can indeed do all things. I´m working very hard to apply this lesson in my life.

On Saturday we taught Lucy and her son Carlos. They began taking the lessons 3 weeks ago. I have never seen such faith. Their home is about half the size of my younger brothers bedroom, you can ask my dad for square footage. They love God and Jesus Christ. They were invited to read the Book of Mormon and be baptized. They Read it, Pondered about it and Prayed, asking our Heavenly Father if it is true. The Holy Ghost bore witness to them that it is true. When I was bearing my testimony of the words contained in the Book of Mormon and how I love the doctrine of Christ that is taught within, how it has changed my life, Lucy held the book to her heart and said, this is precious to me. Yesterday was their baptism, it was beautiful, the members are supportive and they are now clean. They have begun their journey to eternal life. I love this little family so much. They have strengthened my testimony. And I pray that it may strengthen yours as well.

The work is going forward, I love it here. I´m learning every day. I wish you could see the world through my eyes during this time, but these blurbs of my life with have to do. I love you all and pray that when we meet again we will ¨rejoice exceedingly¨ that we will have ¨waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth¨ and have ¨sound understanding¨ and give ourselves to ¨much prayer¨ (Alma 17:2-3). ¡Nos Vemos!

Sonrei - Hermana Milmont

Departing for the Mission

2011-06-09T15:59:00.001-07:00

Emotions are running high currently. I depart for the blessed land of Argentina on monday the 13th. Its hard to realize how fragile this existence really is. My district is like my family, and once more I have to leave those I love. This is a fairly difficult thing for me, knowing that I may never see my elders, my brothers, again in this life.

Having this experience with them has taught me a great deal about unity. How with unity, the spirit can dwell with us, and inspire us as we strive to follow Christ. How we support one another as we move forward.

So often we stress over whether or not we are doing what the Lord wants us to do. While in all actuality we need simply to choose the right, and as we do this, the spirit will know that he can work through us. It is because we are in action, because we are moving forward, that He can guide us. Have you ever tried to guide someone or something as they were standing still? It isn't possible. If they are not in motion, they cannot be guided. So if we are being good, choosing the right, and moving forward, we don't need to stress.

My district has taught me a great deal about this, and as I learn to do it, it becomes easier to trust in the Lord, and not fear. I trust that through the challenges that I and my Elders will face, we will follow the spirit. I trust that my Elders will be safe. I trust that those at home will feel the love of our Father in heaven. I trust that as I feast upon the words of Christ, and endure to the end that I will be able to teach with a tongue of angels (2nd Nephi 32:3).

I know that this is the work of God and that it will continue to move forward. I love you all. Nos Vemos!

Sonrei ~ Hernana Milmont

Seguimos A Jesucristo.

2011-05-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

At our last devotional, Elder Russell M.Nelson of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles and his Wife Wendy came and spoke to us concerning
obedience and our purpose. Now being obedient is not particularly
hard for me. At a relatively young age I discovered how people
(especially me) are the happiest when everyone is choosing the right.
The benefits far out weigh the drawbacks.

Sister Nelson relayed an experience where, as she was conversing with
a recently returned missionary, she asked what was the most profound
lesson to be learn as a missionary. His reply was that obedience
brings blessings, but EXACT obedience bring miracles. The Lord has so
many blessings to pour out upon us, but we must first do what He asks.
In Doctrine & Covenants, section 82 verse 10 the Lord tells us about
this remarkable relationship. "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I
say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." God is
sitting on the edge of His seat, with the desire that we, His
Children, will understand and utilize this glorious relationship.
What a simple equation! So why is it so difficult for some to do
those small and simple things? (Alma 37:6-7) There is a wise purpose
to every commandment of the Lord. When we do these things, I know
that the Spirit can better guide us as we serve the Lord.

Building upon that foundation, Elder Nelson asked us "why are You
obedient?" His answer sunk deep into my soul. It was simply put, for
the human soul speaks simply. "You Follow Jesus Christ." What a
phenomenal phrase! Encompassing the entire reason for why we do the
things we do, and why we are who we are. In General Conference a few
years ago Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
said that people know who we are by what we do. That what we do is
dictated by how we feel about what we know. That is why I am serving a
mission. I know that the messege of the restored Gosple of Jesus
Christ will bless your life. As you ask for yourself, and study it
out, praying with a sincere heart to recieve the answer, you will feel
the truth of it, and begin to act. This is who I am, "Behold, I am a
disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him
to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting
life." (3rd nephi 5 :15) Sigo a Jesucristo. Nos Vemos.

Sonrei ~ Hna. Milmont

Faith in His Children

2011-05-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

A great deal is happening here at the MTC. For example, yesterday 500 missionaries arrived. What a marvelous thing, the work is moving forward, the stone cut out of the mountain without hands is rolling forth. (D&C 65:2) Here we are, children, quasi adults, who know so little, and yet we are here to serve the Lord & His children. It makes me feel so insignificant, but we learn in Doctrine & Covenants that the Gospel will be "proclaimed by the weak & simple, unto the ends of the world" (1:23) and "every man shall hear the fullness of the gospel in his own tongue."(90:11) As I see the new missionaries arrive each week, I remember how small I felt when I arrived four weeks ago. Learning how to be an effective missionary is a formidable task.

Recently new challenges have arisen, and because so many missionaries have been coming in, changes are being made. One of those changes dealt with my district. We have been transferred to a new zone & combined with their intermediate district. Luckily we already have a good friendship with each member of that district. Nevertheless it has been a difficult transition. Our challenge is to take two individual districts with their established dynamics, and create one unified district. With several stong personalities, this may take some time. I'm still the only sister missionary, but now I'm working with 11 elders instead of 4.

There are also many changes occuring within the curriculum. I'm learning how constant change really is. All of these changes are proving to be incredibly challenging, so what does that say about the missionaries who are making the transition? God has faith in His children! God has faith in US! How amazing that knowledge is! He asks us to accomplish a great things, because he knows that we can, and has faith that we will. I love the mission, and I love all of you. Nos Vemos!

Sonrei ~ Hna. Milmont

And I went Forth

2011-05-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

Do you ever think about the difficulty that comes with persecution? How do we act? Can we say with confidence: I did my part.
Each morning we have an hour of personal scripture study time. This is a choice opportunity to develop a lasting friendship with the word of God.
Yesterday I began a new study of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is an account of a people who left Jerusalem around 600 B.C. It follows these people, their posterity & development up to about 421 A.D. Also, it gives an account of Christs' visit to the Americas, after His atonement, crucifixion, and resurrection. John 10:16 tells us that there was another people needing salvation. This scripture was given in reference to Gods children on the American continent. The Book of Mormon testifies that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.
As the Book begins it tells the story of Lehi & his family. Lehi was a prophet and thus was called to preach the world of God. At this juncture, Jerusalem was a fairly wicked city, and the people were hard in their hearts. In his heart, Lehi longed for the salvation of his people. Knowing that the message may fall on deaf ears, he went forth. 1 Nephi 1:18
Verse 19 continues saying he was "mocked because of the things which he testified." But he still went forth. Like Paul, in Romans 1:16, Lehi "was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power unto salvation.
Like Lehi, I am called to preach the word of God. The people will probably mock me. Nevertheless, I will go forth, for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, I know that it is indeed, the power unto salvation. Nos Vemos.
Sonrie ~ Hermana Milmont

I do not doubt my mother new it:)

2011-05-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

Homesickness: An unproductive state of being brought on by what life is where you are not. Yesterday, it finally happened. Yours truly, was finally homesick for 2.3 hours. She swore it would never happen, but, the natural man weak, and subject to such feelings. The Lord blesses us each with the promise that if we rely on him, he will convert our weaknesses into strengths. Ether 12:27

As I was struggling with my new found weakness, I remembered all of the people whom I love at home. Life for them, is moving forward. Generally this might be the cause for some longing of home, but as missionaries we are promised that our families will be well watched over. D&C 31:2.

Finally, I thought on my mother. This weekend is Mother's Day, but I am of the opinion that each day should be Mother's Day. After birthing you, changing your diapers, cleaning up your vomit, feeding you, dealing with teen drama, teaching you to do your laundry, etc., she has spent the greater parts of her life loving you. Truly the most noble occupation possible. All the while, she has taught you how to be: a good person, an asset to society, a loving human being, a light to your fellow man, and above all; a follower of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In Alma 56:47-48 there are roughly 2000 young men going to war, but they are not afraid. Their mothers taught them to put their trust in the Lord, and they did. Like them, I am away from home charging headfirst into the battle for the souls of man. My mother tauhgt me to trust in the Lord. I will do so, and I will not fear (or be homesick). I cannot doubt that my mother knew it. I love you Mom! Nos Vemos.

Sonrie~ Hermana Milmont

Bruised Knees and Spiritual Things

2011-04-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

In many cases, we find ourselves wondering "for what purpose have I been put in this situation?" I found myself asking that very question on my knees.

You all know that I am a solo sister. It seemed odd at first, and to be almost perfectly honest... it has been a great experience. When my district began our adventure together, I felt like as fifth wheel of sorts. Which is to be expected, after all, I am older and wiser;) But in all seriousness, I was in desperate need of understanding. A feeling of need began to grow slowly somewhere between my brain and my stomach. It told me that I needed to ask for guidance.

On page 39 of the missionary manual, Preach My Gospel, it states "No one can know of the spiritual truths without prayer." As missionaries, we pray on our knees at the start and end of each: meeting, personal study, companionship study, class time, district meeting, sleeping, etc. Currently, I have a bruise the size of Texas on each of my knees. One week ago, I found myself praying for the Elders in my district, each of them in turn for those thing which they stand in need of. As I discussed their needs with the Lord, something changed. It's amazing how the Spirit can touch our hearts. He testified to me that my Elders are children of God. I love God's children. And I love my Elders. I know that I am meant to help each of them on their path to becoming the amazing people that I know they will be. We are God's children, we are brothers and sister, and we will help bring God's love to this generation. I love you all, Nos vemos:)

Sonrie ~ Hermana Milmont

Yo no se porque no lo se!

2011-04-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

There are many things that people experience in life. My most recent experience consists of wrong turns and not knowing anything! This is a rather uncomfortable position to be in. I am currently at the missionary training center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. My life is officially: learning to speak a foreign language, learning to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in said language, studying 9 hours a day, digesting cafeteria food, exercising, keeping a journal, planning every day be half hour increments, being productive, getting along with 19 year old boys, showering with sandals on, understanding 5 other girls (roommates), keeping your space clean, loving your companion (whom you are never without, or in my case make sure that you are never alone by scheduling with both your roommates and your district), eliminating the words "guys and dude" from your vocabulary, being spiritual, and having a great attitude:)

I learned all of this on day one at the MTC. But lucky for me, I have 3 days to figure it out :)

Here at the MTC we have many zones. Each zone is made up of districts, and each district is made up of individual missionaries. My district has 5 people in it. 4 Elders and me. This is not what I had expected. It's HARD! Boys are WEIRD;) Despite this, I know that I will be able to learn and grow from this experience. I was the only intermediate Spanish speaking sister that arrived here on Wednesday, and therefore I have a sticker on my name tag that designates me as a "solo sister." I can be with any two elders or any one sister. Needless to say, I need 3 extra days to figure it out.

Each week we prepare a 5 minute talk in Spanish, and we are called at random each Sunday to share what we prepared. I had planned to share those with you each week for the next 8 weeks, but I am currently in civilian clothing and doing laundry and I left my talk elsewhere, but I will send it next week, so you can enjoy my green Spanish:)

I love it here. It's hard work, but I have never felt so productive in my life. I'm learning so much and it's a validating feeling. Even though I don't know what I don't know, I do know that the Lord will bless me as I do what is right. Nos Vemos:)

Sonrei ~ Hermana Milmont

Farewell Talk

2011-04-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

Good morning brothers and sisters. It is a pleasure to be with you today. As I look out, there are many of you here that I have known for the larger part of my life. But because I have been attending the singles branch for the past three years, there are many of you that I do not know personally, but I hope one day to remedy that. I’m grateful for the spirit that is here today, and I pray that his influence will remain with us.
The summer after my freshman year of college I had the great opportunity to go to Ecuador with a study abroad program. At the time I was a Spanish major and it was one of the requirements to graduate, so I did all that I could to prepare. Studying Spanish, getting shots, packing, earning some money, renewing my passport, and studying the culture that I would soon to be immersed in. All of these preparations are important, and being prepared made the majority of my trip very enjoyable.
I have a small red military issue Book of Mormon. It is about the size of a deck of cards. This was my source of spiritual food that I took with me, it was light weight, and it could fit in my pocket which is marvelous because I don’t carry a purse. However, there was a major problem. Not only was it light, but I treated it that way. Now I’ll come back to that.
Each day was divided up into sections: four hours of class, one hour for lunch, another four hours of class, with what they called una pausa, which meant break or pause, in the middle. Then we were free to do whatever until 6:30 because that’s when it started to get dark, and Quito, Ecuador’s capital wasn’t known for its friendliness. On the weekends we had culture and tourism, which means we traveled to the various places around the country.
The host family that I was staying with lived 30 minutes away by bus and 20 minutes away by taxi, so we left no later than 6:30 to go home. I did my homework and then had about an hour to kill. Here is where my problems began. Generally I pride myself in my ability to not get home sick. I can generally focus on my purpose, and forget about home. But after 3 weeks my super power vanished. I was getting homesick.
Now, let us return to my little Book of Mormon. It was a gift from my mother, and in the front cover she had written her testimony. I was sitting on my little bed at my host families’ house. It wasn’t home. And I was not doing the things that would give me strength. Not only had I left home, but I had left my armor, I was spiritually spent with little means to refill my cup. It was then that I dug out my little Book of Mormon, I began to read. Through my tears, my mother’s testimony spoke to my heart, reminding me of what I knew, I needed to be obedient and rely on the Lord.
In the scriptures we are told that we receive no witness until after a trial of our faith (Ether 12:6 http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng). But I have found that when it comes to repentance, the Lord comes quickly to our aid. One of my favorite New Testament stories is in Matthew 14 (http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/14?lang=eng), when Peter walks on water. Peter starts walking out to the Savior and he’s doing pretty well. I think all of us do pretty well with our faith a lot of the times. But then there is a storm going on. Ours is a different kind of storm but a storm nonetheless. When Peter didn’t have a boat between him and the storm “he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me” How often do we begin to sink? How boisterous are our storms….? The scripture continues “And immediately” did you catch that? “Immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him”
How do you suppose Peter felt as he began to sink? Do you think that he was scared; perhaps he didn’t know what was going to happen. Do we often feel like we’re sinking, afraid to drown? With compassion Christ says “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt” I like to imagine how he said this. I don’t think he was yelling, or doing the stern parent voice with the furrowed brow. “Your in big trouble.” No, in my mind I see a half smile on his face, as he shakes his head slightly, His countenance saying “my child, I know that you were scared, but I am right here, waiting to act on your call”
When I was in Ecuador He was there waiting for my call. The day after, that compassion was evident. It was Sunday. We were on the road to the Cotopaxi volcano. I was sitting by my instructor, and the two of us had a mini church service, just the two of us. When we were finished, I looked out the window, and we were driving through Vedauwoo, Wyoming…. In the middle of Ecuador, who knew? As we continued the scenery was morphing in front of me. We went through star valley, the big horn, green river, Cody, all the different areas of Wyoming. And when we climbed the volcano… it was windy that day was wonderful, it was the Lord saying “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
When we are sinking and the winds have to do with sin, the waves have to do with transgression, the storm is wearing you down, you cry “Lord save me” He will always come. In Alma 7 (http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/7?lang=eng) it says that Christ shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people. The word Succor Literally means “to run to”. Christ will run to you, he can’t wait to give aid. He will not leave you friendless.
We see this pattern in the Book of Mormon again and again. He seems to be crying from the pages let me show compassion towards you
Enos tells us, “there came a voice unto me saying Enos thy sins are forgiven thee and thou shalt be blessed, and I said Lord how is it done, and the Lord says because of thy faith in Christ whom thou has never before heard or seen (Enos 1:5, 7-8 http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/enos/1?lang=eng).”
A few pages later the Lord shows us again with Benjamin’s people
They cried out “oh have mercy and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins and our hearts may be purified and it came to pass that after they had spoken these words, the spirit of the Lord came upon them and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience (Mosiah 4:2-3 http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/4?lang=eng).”
Go further still, he does it again as we read about Zeezrom
Alma says “if though believeth in the redemption of Christ, thou canst be healed, he said yeah I believe according to thy words, and Alma cried, oh Lord our God have mercy on this man, and heal him according to his faith which is in Christ and when Alma had said these words Zeezrom leaped upon his feet and began to walk(Alma 15:8-11 http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/15?lang=eng).”
God is so concerned with us knowing that He will succor His people
He shows us His love and compassion again with Alma and the sons of Mosiah. And Alma cries out “I remember to have heard my father prophecy unto the people, concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a son of God, to atone for the sins of the world. Now as my mind caught hold of this, thought I cried within my heart oh Jesus, though son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death. And now behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more. And Oh what joy and marvelous light I did behold (Alma 36:17-20 http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/36?lang=eng).”
He does it again with Lamoni, and then his wife, later his father and his servants. In Alma 24 the anti-nephi-lehi who claim to be the most lost of all mankind (http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/24?lang=eng). Then in Helaman, the Lamanites who plot to kill Lehi and Nephi (Helaman 5 http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/5?lang=eng). All repent and are forgiven.
The list is enormous; do you suppose that the Lord is trying to make a point?
In Matt 18 (http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/18?lang=eng): A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would fain, have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
- Now how could he have seen his son? He had to have been Watching for him, Waiting for his return. And when he saw his son he didn’t walk, he ran to his son to show his love and compassion.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
The Lord uses us to fulfill his purpose, we as His children have the opportunity to show compassion to those around us.
One of my favorite stories is the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo; it is the story of Jean Valjean. Preceding the French revolution, it takes place in France. In his younger years Valjean steals a loaf of bread and as punishment is placed in the prison system to repay his debt to society. Many years he spent working off what he owed. While doing this, there was a great deal of time to let hate fester. As he continued to let this hate grow, he all but destroyed his ability to show Compassion. The time came for his parole and he was released. With nothing but the rags on his back he wandered the streets of Paris looking for something, not knowing what. He is found by an old priest who gives him food and shelter. Astonished at the compassion this priest could have for a stranger, Jean Valjean is torn. Fine silver is in the home of the priest. Thinking that he could take the silver, and use it to get his feet back on the ground, he must make a decision. Ultimately he justifies taking the silver because of all the hardship he has endured throughout life. Because he is on parole, he will return to prison if he is found out. Later that night he is caught and taken back to the priest’s home.
Now examining the situation, the priest, who fed and sheltered Jean Valjean would be justified in being angry. But instead he follows Christ’s example of compassion, and forgiveness.
The priest greets Jean and exclaims that he had forgotten to take the candle sticks and then proceeds to give them to him. The silver was changed from something stolen, into something given and the lawman leaves, for his services are no longer needed. This was a great turning point. The priest kneels to join Jean Valjean who is on his knees and tells him to make an honest man out of himself. Through the action of the priest, Valjean saw the light of Christ, the example of ultimate forgiveness, and then learns to emulate that in his life. He himself learns Compassion and with that does what he can to better society.
Growing up there were many things that we did as a family. I am one of the youngest in our family, and as such wasn’t able to participate in the things which required finer motor skills. But I can remember seeing my older siblings and wanting to participate. I also remember watching my older brother and wanting to be his best friend. He was good at everything. For a large part of my younger life I wanted to be just like Adam, I would try to emulate many of the things that I had seen him do, in hopes that we could maybe develop a better relationship. As a child, that was ONE of the few desires of my heart. When he was called to serve a mission, I decided to write him every week, and I think I did, but you’ll have to ask him to know for sure. Adam and I now have a wonderful relationship.
The Other of my few childhood desires was to serve a full time mission. If you ask my parents they will tell you that I just came that way. It is a goal that I have been preparing for all my life. Every choice made, was made with the mission in mind; I wanted to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As my time to serve grew closer I recognized a couple personal pitfalls, something of my own storm. I wouldn’t see my two friends from high school Angela and Jerry for 3 and a half years. This was really discouraging for me because they had helped me through a great deal. I would do anything for them. So I prayed for comfort. I received my mission call on January 13th and the compassion of the Lord was evident in my life. The Lord knew the desires of my childhood heart and the first was granted, I was called to serve. The second was also granted, I was assign to serve in the Argentina Buenos Aires Norte Mision. This is where my brother Adam served. I was going to have the connection with him that I had always wanted. In his tender mercies, the Lord also understood my current concerns. Jerry is also serving in the same mission and although he comes home before I get there, I will have the opportunity to love and work with many of people that he has. Angela is a good letter writer so I never really needed to worry about her.
Brother and sisters I know that this is the true church, and that it was restored through Joseph Smith. I know that God loves his Children. We see his tender mercies and His compassion not only in scripture, but in our daily lives. He has given us prophets to lead and direct us, because He loves us. I know that Thomas S. Monson is our prophet today. The Book of Mormon is true. It testifies of Jesus Christ on every page. He is our Savior and Redeemer and our elder brother. Now my final childhood dream is realized, I want to be like my elder brother, I want to succor his people and help them on their journey to eternal life. Brothers and sisters I challenge you to do the same.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Validation

2011-04-11T17:55:00.000-07:00

The Call I Hear

2011-01-13T21:34:00.000-08:00

Anticipation: expectation, hope, eagerness, enthusiasm, intensity, devotion, dedication, wholeheartedness, belief, trust, optimism, fervor, zeal… etc.

A feeling that has been present my entire existence. Indeed this feeling has been invested in one particular direction: Serving a full time Mission

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, young men and women, ages of 19 and 26 leave their homes, friends, and family, to spend 18 to 24 months serving the Lord and His Children in various lands and languages. For the Gospel of Jesus Christ will spread to every nation, tongue and people. I was “born with the desire to go on a mission.”

It is not my turn to serve, for those who have the desire, are called to the work, and as my mother will tell you, I was “born with the desire to serve.”

Today is the day. It’s coming today, my call to serve, I can feel it. It is an interesting sensation, knowing that I can go anywhere in the world… and more importantly, that I will. I have been praying a lot about this very subject. And enough of my friends have predicted me going to temple square in Salt Lake City. Don’t be wrong, salt lake is great, but it is a very different mission than going to some third world country. In general people have an idea about where they want to go. For the longest time I was convinced that I would be called to serve in Italy. But after praying, the thoughts of my soul tell me that where I am called is where the Lord needs me, whether it is SLC or Rome. In truth, I have my suspicions about Florida, but I suppose we’ll see.

When mom walks in with a large envelope, my heart jumps, and my mind starts to race. The first question is “when should I open it?” shortly followed by “with whom should I open it?” Finally I make a decision. 5:30 and we’ll Skype all the family. Meanwhile I stick the envelope under my pillow for safe keeping. Whoever decided that was safe, I have no idea, but in my childhood there was no safer place.

As we gather around the table I think of all the places that can go. My whole family is here via skype or in person, except Hoss who’s at school. I gaze on their faces and can feel their anticipation and I clutch my dad’s Robert the Bruce letter opener. It is a mini sword replica that my brother brought back from Scotland. My envelope has creases from where my fingers have been holding. As I slice the paper, you can hear how deliberate my tear is. As I pull out the sheet of cream colored paper I quickly conceal the section of paper that gives my destination. I can’t very well read ahead… that would be cheating. As I begin to read my heart starts to swell “Dear Sister Milmont: You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” what an awesome responsibility, to be a representative of Christ. I continue to read “You are called to labor in the….” My heart stops, and I choke up. I know that this is where I am meant to serve, my family members are all holding their breath and as I speak through tears I finish “… in the Argentina Buenos Aires North Mission”

I cannot remember ever being this happy. This was my brothers’ mission, and several of my cousins’ missions, and my best friend from high schools mission, but above all this is Gods’ mission and Christ Gospel. I report on April 13^th and I can hardly wait to get out there, to serve Gods’ Children. I know that God loves each of us, and He knows the desires of our hearts. As we strive to keep His commandments we will become more effective instruments in his hands.

The Holiday Dunk Incident

2011-01-09T20:37:00.000-08:00

When a person inspects their childhood, they often recall chores and responsibilities. Said obligations may be rotated among family members such as who does the dishes each night. Or tasks may simply fall upon the oldest child living at home, like loading the trash bags into a rickety old cart and wheeling it down the hill to be picked up by the garbage men the following morning. In many families there is an annual ritual know as "Spring Cleaning" which can be traced to the ancient Jewish practice of thoroughly cleansing the home in anticipation of the spring-time holiday of Passover (Hebrew: פסח pesach‎). During the eight-day holiday there is a strict prohibition against eating anything which may have been leavened. Jews are not only supposed to refrain from leavened foodstuffs (known in Hebrew as חמץ chametz), they are expressly commanded to rid their homes of even small remnants of chametz for the length of the holiday (Exodus 12:15). Therefore, for the past 3,500 years, observant Jews have conducted a thorough "spring cleaning" of the house ridding the premises of all types of leavening before the Passover begins.

While growing up, members of my family participated in what I like to call the "Semi-Annual Cousin" to spring cleaning. Not really having a proper name for it, I have recently dubbed it the "Holiday Dunk." It generally falls between Thanksgiving and Christmas so it seemed appropriate. Preparing all the bedrooms for guests. Vacuuming, dusting, cleaning out the garage, thawing the freezers, bringing in the long and ridiculously heavy table, the Christmas decor and so forth. After installing the new sink down stairs, mom was installing glass shelves in the vanity. As I began to help her, one of the shelves slipped and greeted my finger most sharply. The inflicted wound immediately started to gush. And thus ended the Holiday Dunk.

The Initial Gush

Upon Further Inspection

The Magic of Indian Paint (Iodine) Applied

Collodion Discovered and Glued

Summer, Love and the Oregon Coast

2010-11-08T21:53:00.000-08:00

lighthouses are intended to make visible what cannot be seen in a storm.

This guidance can be applied in various moments of time, space and thought.

-A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for pilots at sea or on inland waterways.

-Light is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is visible to the human eye.

-A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam.

God has given us the light of the World, to help us navigate at sea. He has given us tools to reflect that light, so that other's might also be directed to safety. But the light must be on for the lens to reflect and become visible to those who are searching.

Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 100 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter. It is by far the largest species of spruce; the fourth largest conifer in the world (behind Giant Sequoia, Coast Redwood and Western Red Cedar); and the third tallest conifer species (after Coast Redwood and Coast Douglas-fir). It acquires its name from the community ofSitka, Alaska.

The Cape Meares scenic viewpoint is the location of the"Octopus Tree", a large, multi-trunked Sitka Spruce with a trunk circumference of about 50 feet.

To your left are two very attractive tourists standing at said lookout.

Mission Reunions are always a blast... Well Le Chiffre's was entertaining to say the least. I've never been referred to as a wife or fiancée so many times in my life. But seeing sheepish faces when questioners realized that I was simply a Girlfriend was priceless. The Mission Pres. & Wife were absolutely wonderful. It easy to see why Le Chiffre loves them so much :)

Californiacation:)

2010-11-08T21:29:00.000-08:00

I found a bedrock

Hoosteen and Goose

One night at the Rez, it was.... educational, and quasi rumbustious

Goose, Hoosteen, & me

who would have thought sunset at the grand canyon would be cold?

Yogurt at the Embassy Sweet... and sweet were the connections

Thai food in Sacramento, Panang curry is the best

note: be prepared for side effects

Where is that?

2008-11-22T22:37:00.000-08:00

Weekends tend to be exciting lately. I was able to spend time with some of my favorite people. Buddha and Gracem came home for the weekend. I would like to think that it was solely for me because I'm just that amazing... but contrary to popular belief... they do have other friends as well. After a long and arduous hour in choir I was spent;) So naturally I was off to play. Skinnyjay, Hippie, Maestro, and I decided to raid Guadalajara. It has been deemed that they have the best bean dip I had all day:] When the kitchen was empty Skinnyjay and I proceeded to ruby juice which is where we met up with Buddha and Gracem. The four of us talking and laughing together is one of my definitions of happiness.

You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose... but Don't Pick Your Friends Nose!!!
Platville.... Plattville or Plateville? In any case, that was my destination on Saturday. A bonfire, a ton of people whom I had never met, scalding hot cocoa and meeting the Fam was the mission. Mission report: Successful:)

Skinnyjay and I went to a WACOS(We Are Called tO be Saints) bonfire that was planned by his padre who makes amazing chili so henceforth we shall call him Chiliman, and his madre is dubbed Mili. Apparently the chili that I had that night was not the "Famous Chili" that I've been hearing a gillion stories about. Luckily I have secret ninja skills and was able to convince Chiliman to make it for me sometime. I must say that I am stoked! Skinnyjays Family is absolutely amazing. Mili is from Spain and she is wicked bubbly, I don't think I've ever laughed so much. She is hilarious, and I love her accent. She is the source of all knowledge when it comes to Skinnyjays childhood... he can't remember much (grrr) Chiliman has a sense of humor that is very similar to Skinnyjays (thank heaven) at first I thought he was kinda intimidating.. then I discovered the family secret... he's a big teddy bear [it's not really a secret... it just sounds cooler that way:] Pepe (SJ brother) is a masterful hacky sacker and reminded me of my cousin, so that was really cool, because my cousin is pretty amazing.

When we here making the hot cocoa we discovered that I have an uncanny sense of smell. I can smell temperature! pretty cool eh=P unfortunately it didn't do me much good.. I still burnt my tongue when testing it. Sad times indeed:( the bonfire was a ton of fun, we did the cha cha slide, sang songs, and ate yummy chili. It got really cold after a while, luckily I had a heater motor handy, always be prepared right? I'm a regular boy scout... well sort of:) all in all it was an absolutely fantastic day!

Spoons.

2008-11-20T22:24:00.000-08:00

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like. The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the center of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They were famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into the their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, "I don't understand." "It is simple" said the Lord, "it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves. "Jesus is always thinking of you"

Use The Force!

2008-11-19T22:12:00.000-08:00

A couple smiles:)

2008-11-18T19:10:00.000-08:00

Admit it... you feel like doing this to at least one person everyday

bombs awaaaaaaay...........

I love cows... :)

Media supplied by Yaya aka MomMil

This ones for you Teach

2008-11-18T18:04:00.000-08:00

After being interviewed by the school administration, the teaching prospect said,

'Let me see if I've got this right:' You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.

' You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.

' You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job. You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial be behavior, and make sure that they all pass the state exams.

' You want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.

' You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps. You want me to do all this and then you have the nerve to tell me.................

'I CAN'T PRAY?'

They've got our back.... Finally:)

2008-11-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

What an amazing thing. I can honestly say that I was slightly shocked when I read this. I never thought this would happen in my lifetime. It truly warms my heart to know that there are good men out there, who are no longer blinded by prejudice. I pray that we will have the ability to maintain this alliance, and thank God for opening the doors that made it possible.

What A Long Strange Trip It's been
Posted by: John Schroeder at 07:09 am, November 6th 2008

Proposition 8 is now a part of the California constitution! That is probably the best news from an otherwise difficult election for conservatives and Republicans. In very large part, we Evangelicals must thank our Mormon cousins for that fact. They, along with our Catholic brethren, were better organized than us and that provided a base from which we could ALL work together to get this job done. What more, as we have chronicled here, Mormons took the brunt of the abuse, derision, and even threats of physical harm that came with this effort. And like us, they have given thanks to the Almighty that is ultimately in control, even if their understanding of that Almighty is a bit different than ours. I cannot help but wonder how much more thankful we ALL might be today if we had been more willing to embrace these religious cousins a few months ago – but alas, politics is always about governing today and looking forward to the next election. Said John Mark Reynolds: In the battle for the family, however, traditional Christians have no better friends than the Mormon faithful. It would be wrong if that support were taken for granted. We are intolerant of the false attacks on Mormon faith and family. We stand with our Mormon friends in their right to express their views on the public square. We celebrate the areas, such as family values, where we agree. A hear felt thank you may not win points from other friends who demand one hundred percent agreement from their allies, but it is the decent and proper thing to do. Thank you to our Mormon friends and allies! Hard to do better than that. The "Ruth Youth" ministry proclaimed yesterday "International Mormon Appreciation Day." Very appropriate, yet still inadequate. In addition to our thanks, Mormons deserve our protection. They have been oppressed in ways during the Prop 8 campaign that this nation has not seen since the 1960's and the civil rights movement. The rhetoric has been deplorable, but moreover, we have seen instances of vandalism, property destruction, and some leaders in the fight currently find themselves with armed protection because of the threats made against them and their families. Our nation will not and cannot tolerate this sort of behavior - it is incumbent on all of us to stand against it, and the best way to do that is to stand between the Mormons and the forces that would perpetrate such evil. Now I am sure the Mormons can, and probably want, to take care of themselves, but as a Christian, it is my duty to protect the innocent and free the oppressed. To turn a blind eye in this circumstance is not only ungracious, it is simply un Christian. Make all the theological distinctions you want, but in the political arena we are yoked with the Mormons (he said borrowing some religious imagery) and it is darn well time we started acting like it. Absolutely, positively thank the Mormons - but don't stop there. Stand up and be counted against the evil that has been perpetrated towards them in this campaign. As Christians we can do no less.

Fight FOCA

2008-11-14T17:47:00.000-08:00

I can't say that I've ever been much of political activist, however I can say that I'm not... and never have been passive about current issues. Plus college culture gives a very unique perspective on how the world is and is not supposed to work. So here's a link that I stole from Skinnyjay. I thought it was rather interesting, enjoy:)

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/11/12/catholic-bishops-fight-foca/

Vacuum?

2008-11-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

Supes eyes are wiggin... but i suppose that's kosher for a funny picture
Lee and Supes came to visit this weekend it was a grand ole time. We went to the LCCC basketball game and the happy news is ... WE WON:) not that I'm all the surprised, my team is pure amazingness!
we decided that the vacuum in the background was a nice touch:)

Blucher!!!

2008-10-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

The movie night was a total hit. About 22 people showed up at PresG's house. I was thoroughly pleased. Skinnyjay came too, which was surprising, but happy. I had never seen young Frankenstein before then. Evey time they said Frau Blucher, I couldn't help but laugh. I think her last name means "glue"... I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5IWHt4OoNk

If you have never read the credits before Monte Pithon and the Holy grail, you're missing out. It's pretty funny stuff. After the movies were over I made my famouse hot chocolate for Skinnyjay. I'm spreading my fame, one mug of hot chocolate at a time, moo ha ha, the plan is to take over the world, but keep it on the DL;)

Zombies, ahhh!

2008-10-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

on the 30th we had an ASG shindig. it was a fun time, and the costumes were cu-razzy

Juno was one such costume, she had a big jug or orange juice and walked like a pregnant women ready to pop. it was awesome. I bet you can't guess how she made her Fo stomach. anyone care to take a gander? and yes it is fake:)

Archie and I are rather proud of our Frankpumkinstein, but I'm not gonna lie, he looks much better when its dark and the candle is lit. Frankpumkinstein has since grown old and haggard, he had a very sustained life:)
On Halloween we had a great time at school, what with little kids running and screaming when they saw Archie. Apparently I need a Zombie escape plan, some of the stories are slightly disturbing. According to my good friend Skinnyjay... if velociraptors attack I might as well kiss this life goodbye, we have too many windows and not enough doorknobs;)

Frank"pumpkin"stein

2008-10-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

Halloween is going to be very good to me this year:) so far I have had a blast and the holiday has yet to visit my happy life of college-dom. As you can see I was very creative tonight. My good friend Archie and I carved this stunning masterpiece of a veritable. The bolts by his ears weren't so good, but have since been tightened. unfortunately I have no picture of our dear creation after his tune up. Archie just got his Crockpot back last night, and has been letting his famous stew simmer all day. Hence my stomack made out like a bandit with my eats this evening. Archie had never used his new machine before... so dinner was really more of an experiment, but it was thoroughly enjoyable:) I'm trying to find good ideas for halloween movies to watch this friday. If there are any brilliant people out there with fantastic sugestions I would be most greatful. I need at least one thats rated PG. I hope that you.... who ever "you" are had a spooky night *muah ha ha ha*

2008-10-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

there are many times in my life that I just want to take a nap... I have since discovered that I am amazingly talented at falling asleep anywhere:)

I caved

2008-10-27T22:08:00.000-07:00

its amazing how convinceing rose can be. The truth is... I have nothing else to do at the moment so I figure... I could fulfill my beloved sisters wishes:) I'm not promising that I can keep this up, because I do have quite the schedual, what with 19 credits and all, but I promis I'm not bitter. I definately love my life and thats not going to change. smile all:)