New Adventure

Buenas Tardes familia y amigos!!

Its taking a little bit to get used to the new rhythm of the mission. Im loving everything so far though! A lot more contact with President and all the missionaries! Right now, everything is 100% focused on the visit from Elder Soares next week! So we've been working mostly on that. After the visit, we'll be able to move on the planning this whole transfer out with the conferences, leadership councils, etc. This weeks we've deep cleaned to the max the house. It was an absolute disaster when we got there, probably because there have been so many elders in that house and nobody wants to start cleaning the piles of everything. All the Elders that go home, stay in the assistants house the night before. Those Elders usually leave behind a lot of clothes that they dont need anymore. So naturally the house was a pig sty! Little by little, we're getting it organized, the secretaries also just moved to a different house so itll be easier to keep it clean with just us two.

Its hard to say a lot more, because this week we've kind of just been getting used to the system and doing little tasks that President gave us. Next week, Ill have a lot more news! Im super excited for the future!

This week I basically fell to my death bed. As I am writing this, I am blowing my nose every 5 minutes and my throat is very very sore. Thats been the only downer of the week. Ive gotten a little sick throughout the mission but this one is probably the worst so far. And its terrible because I was also put in charge of a musical number for Elder Soares this coming wednesday so Ill hope ill get better by then so I can actually sing!!

This week, we barely had any time to study which was disappointing. Hopefully that wont be a regular occasion. Make sure to take the 10 minutes (at least) every day to search the scriptures! 

Les amo muchísimo!

Pic 1: Elder Conover and I in our new second home.

Pic 2: Mayte, Eduardo, their parents, and little irvine! I love them so much

Pic 3: Brenda, Gisselle, and Heriberto! That was a hard goodbye.

Pic 1: One of my favorite families in Tizayuca! Most are converts of my dad Elder Howell, the others will hopefully be baptized soon!

Pic 2: Eduardo and Mayte´s baptism with some ward support that came with us clear to zumpango!

Pic 3: One of the many ofrendas for dia de los muertos!

Pic 4: Goodbye to the best house/are in the mish!!

New Assignment

Buenas noches familia y amigos!

This week was absolutely insane!! I could write forever about everything but to spare everyone the time, heres the short version of all the highlights!

So this week was a great week for missionary work in tizayuca! it was fun to see everyone celebrating day of the dead here. Pachuca actually has the biggest altar in the world where they put the "ofrendas" for their dead ancestors. I couldnt see it because I was in Tizayuca but its a cool fun fact! 

This sunday we were able to baptize two people! We had to go to the chapel in zumpango since ours is in renovation. The two baptisms are two youth whos mom is a member and whos dad is also going to be baptized! The little girl Mayte is the one who talked to us on the street and asked us where the church was. We got to know them right after and since then we've been teaching them! Mayte and Eduardo progressed super well and their dad Eduardo is also super interested. We found a great family to get to know them and befriend them. Their kids have almost the same age and they get along great! Long story short, the dad was also going to be baptized on sunday but he couldnt get back from work on time because of the traffic from dia de muertos (day of the dead) so only the two kids got baptized but the hermano is close behind. Mayte bore her testimony on sunday and it was so tender! She testified how she knew the church is true and after finishing, she went running to her mom to hug her and they both cried. All the members sitting next to them cried too haha. Im super happy that they will be able to grow in the church as a complete family of 5!!

On sunday night, we received changes in the mission for the next transfer. I thought I was going to stay in Tizayuca but President actually called me to be an Assistant! My whole mission is about to change. For those who dont know much about the position, Ill basically be side by side with president and the other Assistant in all the aspects of the mission. Leading conferences, helping missionaries, and a lot more that I will be learning about. I will have a lot less time actually teaching and meeting the people in the mission field. My companion is also brand new to the job so we will be opening the area together and learning everything little by little! Up to this point, I am very very confused with everything there is to do, mostly because the two assistants that were here, were only able to teach us basic things super quick which didnt really help too much haha. But president assured that everything will be great and that we are going to be able to make a great change in the mission! He has some great plans and goals that he needs us to be the example of in order to help the rest of the 150 (more or less) missionaries in the mission! Im super excited to have more contact with President, I respect him so much and I know that I got called because I have things I need to learn, and things I will offer to try and help improve the mission!

Since we got the call so late last night, I had to say goodbye to everyone at last second! We went flying across all the area saying goodbye to the converts, investigadors, and members that have helped us a lot. It is SOOOO hard to say goodbye! The hardest is when the converts express they appreciation for you and everything you've done and then start to cry! It breaks my heart saying goodbye. Ill spare the details of the departure but Im definitely going to miss everyone in tizayuca!

I will also miss very much my amazing companion Elder Cordeiro! A very hard working, humble, kind, talented, and incredible missionary! Today is actually his birthday! Also fun fact- this man can cry on command. Its so amazing, he has made me cry with laughter because of the use of that talent is certain situations haha. He was definitely one of my very best companions! We got along super well and we had so much fun working as hard as we could! We had some good success, and I know all of the converts and the work is in good hands.

This morning is when all of the real chaos started. I am now in charge of solving dozens of issues that I dont even really understand haha but patience is the key. I only have 12 hours on the job so far haha. We accompanied president to welcome all the new missionaries and take them to the famous clock of Pachuca Centro and take pictures! We also took them out to contact their first people! I loved getting to know them and motivating them to have a good start in the mission field! I love the energy that the new missionaries bring. Then we all went to the offices and chapel to give a presentation (that I also had to do on the spot haha) and show all the new missionaries to their trainers which is super fun to see! All of that process lasted a few hours. I have also translated for President for many different needs. He received some calls from Salt Lake that he needed me to translate and I also helped with the new American missionaries in their first interview! The future is unknown but thats what makes it exciting! Ill have more information for next week but for now I want to get some sleep since Im only running on three hours haha. I feel like im missing things that I need to share but throughout the week I'll organize my thoughts better. Right now Im just grateful for the new opportunity that I have to serve the Lord! I will do my best to magnify the calling.

Just so you all know, my new Preparation day will be Saturday if you want to send emails! 

I wasnt able to take my camara with me but next week ill send pics! Love you all!

Elder Millard

A NAKED Contact

Que tal a todos!?

I hope everythings going well back in O town! I love how winter is already showing its signs!! It looks so pretty! 99% of the people here have never seen snow so yall need to count your blessings haha. Theyve only seen it in movies!

This week was incredible!!! I enjoyed it so much. Here are some highlights

Last Monday, we woke up at the crack of dawn and went running to the top of the hill by our house! We got there early enough to watch sunrise. It was the perfect mexican scene. We had the hundreds of cactus by us, the stray dogs, the banda music in the background, dozens of half finished concrete houses, and a beautiful view of the plains and hills awaiting the sunset! Of course there were some people who came up to us and warned us about all the nacos or gang people who rob frequently in the area. Thats what completed the classic scene. There is no "secure" area in mexico haha but dont worry, we take care of ourselves.

On tuesday, I was on exchanges with Elder Maquin from Guatemala (his native language is Maya which is super cool) and we were contacting some new people at their houses. We knocked this mans door and he walked out COMPLETELY NAKED!!! hahahaha it definitely took me off guard. Elder Maquin was the one who started the contact and his view was obstructed by the car in the driveway, so he just that the man was shirtless but my view was definitely not obstructed hahahaha. The guy acted like nothing was out of the ordinary but maybe he had just forgot to put some pants on?? Ive had a lot of things happen while contacting but that was definitely a first. hahaha

On Thursday, we took a combi to get back to Quma which is the neighborhood that we live in. My comp and I were sitting up front which means we were the ones who passed the money off all the people in the combi when they approached their stop. Usually when people pass the money to someone else, they say something like "te molesto por favor" or "si me lo puedes pasar por favor" which mean like "excuse me, can you pass the money for me?" but theres also another phrase that is super funny that only like old people say which is "no sea malito... lo puedes pasar?". The "no sea malito" means like "dont be a bad person or dont be mean... and do this favor for me". So my comp and I acted like we didnt know each other and when he passed the money to me he said "no seas malito, puedes pasar el dinero" and there was a lady next to us who just bursted out laughing hahahaha. I think she realized that were not mexicans and we were just making fun of some of the sayings. After the laughter died down, of course we had to contact her. We got her info and she accepted an appointment! We went that same day and it looks like she has a lot of potential! She said she had been looking for a church to help her understand certain things... the Lord works in mysterious ways!

Several weeks ago, we found a lady named Gabriela who accepted us very well and had been progressing well ever since. She had the baptismal date planned and everything but two weeks ago at church, she told us "I think I may have already been baptized". She had told us previously that she investigated the church about 25 years ago but when we asked her specifically if she had been baptized, she said no! But on that sunday, we searched for her membership and sure enough, she was baptized about 25 years ago!! ahhhhhh it was kind of frustrating haha but at least we were able to activate her in the church again!

We have found some great families this week. Yesterday at church, 13 of the investigators were able to come which was a huge success! They all loved the reunion and it looks like they're all gonna progress well! God has blessed us with some great investigators.

I have been reading Jesus the Christ a lot recently and there are a lot of gems that I just love!! The one that comes to mind right now is how it was talking about the relationship of young Jesus and his parents. They apparently didnt quite understand 100% about the mission of their son. Jesus had to remind them in several occasions. But James E Talmage explained how that was actually a very crucial part of Jesus' childhood. If Mary and Joseph had understood their son and his mission completely, they wouldnt have been able to have a normal relationship between father and son, and mother and son. There were a lot of cool thoughts that I love about the childhood of Christ. He was perfectly prepared for his mission, everything happened exactly how it needed to.

Les amo!!

Elder Millard 

Pic 1: Cold mornings in Mexico

Pic 2: Combis stuck in traffic because of a high school parade

Pic 3: Elder Maquin in intercambios by the parade!

Rufino Baptism!

Como les va familia y amigos!?

Looks like the fall colors are taking over in Utah, so beautiful! Everything looks the same here haha.

We had a really good week! We've had some really good lessons, and our investigators are progressing very well! A highlight from one of the lessons was when we were teaching a new family, it was our first lesson. I felt impressed to talk about baptisms for the dead (Which we almost never talk about in the first lesson) and the lady started to get really emotional and she started talking about how her mom was a Jehovah's Witness and a few years ago she passed away. The lady feels that her mother is lost but when we explained that she can be baptized for her, she got super interested! Before the lessons started, they told us that they cant come to church because they work on sundays, and after the lesson they told us that they are goign to figure out the way to come to church. So awesome!

So the chapel for our ward is the stake center, but it is a relatively small building for a stake center (because its a new stake) so they actually closed the chapel to expand it into a bigger and better building. Which means that for 9 months-1 year we will be in a different building that we're renting. Its now a lot harder for the baptisms because we have to go clear to Pachuca. Its only 50 minutes away but the transport is kind of hard for these people who live paycheck by paycheck. We'll figure it out though! The new building is perfect! But all of the stairs make it hard for the old people. We have sacrament meeting on the third floor and theres a super cool view of all of the center of Tizyuca! 

This week we baptized Rufino! A few weeks ago he contacted us on the street (We love when that happens) and he's progressed really well ever since! His wife is (or was) a less active member and they just barely got married (theyre both widows). Its a miracle that they are legitimately married! We knew that was a good sign. He hasnt missed a sunday since and he was ready for baptism! We're happy for him and we know he'll be great in the church.

This week we also had interviews with our President! I respect this man soooo much and Im so grateful for such a great leader in our mission. He gave me hints that I might be leaving so I really need to make the best of these last two weeks in Tizayuca! 

This week I read a talk from Spencer W Kimball that he gave about 50 years ago. Its called The Years that the Locust Devoured ( I think thats what its called, thats the direct translation from Spanish but maybe the English title is different) but here are two quotes (that im paraphrasing) that I loved!

"dost thou love life? then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."- benjamin franklin

“En la vida hay tres cosas que no vuelven atrás: la flecha lanzada, la palabra pronunciada y la oportunidad perdida”  which means (in life there are three things that dont come back, the shot arrow, the pronounced word, and the past opportunity) it has a better ring to it in spanish haha

Les amo!!

Elder Millard

Waiting for the font to fill up...

It's hard to be tall in the Combi...

Tizayuca catholic church. notice that the virigin "guaudalupe" is the center of attention

Morning fog crossing the bridge

sleeping comp on the bus

Heriberto, Gisselle, and Brenda's Baptism!!

Como les va a todos!??

It was a super good week here in tiza!! The first highlight was the zone conference. President's words so sooo amazing and I think the mission is going to improve a lot. also drumroll..... an apostle is coming to the mission!!! Elder Cook was supposed to come a few months ago but it got canceled so we'll see who comes to visit us in november!! Im super stoked.

My favorite part of the week was the baptism for Heriberto and his wife and daughter!! They are super awesome, and super strong in the gospel!! The best part of the story is how we found him. my last comp Elder Castro and I were running a little late to an appointment but then all of a sudden it started raining SUPER but SUPER hard. So we had to find refuge in a close by taco stand. While we were waiting, I felt like I should contact this man who seemed like he was also waiting for the rain to pass by. He was super nice with us and accepted an appointment for a couple days later! And that was the start of everything! They were able to make some major life changes like smoking 10 cigarettes a day to 0... getting married (which took forever by the way) and starting to read and pray more! They are truly gonna be great converts. And little Brenda (11 years old) says she wants to be a missionary. This fam had met the missionaries like three years ago but they werent able to keep listening. Ever since then, theyve listened to different missionaries every once in a while but it wasnt until we met them that they decided to take the initiative and make the necessary life changes! We're so happy for them.

I finished the Old Testament this week! what an incredible book. I love the little bits and pieces we can learn about the priesthood and temple worship. There are so many little gems that teach us so much! It just makes me realize about how we really are in the "dispensation of the fulness of times" and all of those same things exist again to bless the lives of all of Gods children! 

Les quiero mucho!!

Elder Millard

The Gomez Gonzalez family! And Alex (on the left) a member friend who baptized them!

Still wearing that wristband from bike accident...

Cute little Brenda 

General Conference!

Como Vocés Estao!??

Haha im learning a little bit of portuguese thanks to my comp. Hows everyone going?? Wasnt conference incredible!? I loved all the sessions but sunday morning definitely won it for me! Its such a blessing to have living prophets! Its something that a lot of people dont know about, so share it with everyone!!

This week was soooo good! Weve been flying around our area for more lessons and we've had some really cool experiences! The most amazing miracle I've seen recently is a family that the parents smoked 10 cigarettes every day, and dont have basically any money. But with more lessons, and more reading the book of mormon, they have left completely their addictions and we've found the way for them to get married! So now they are set to be baptized this weekend!! The two parents and their daughter brenda who LOVES the church. They came to two session of general conference and they were just shining with hapiness! Theyre good friends with a lot of the members so theyre gonna fit right in. We love them! Next week Ill share the crazy story of how we found them!

Another highlight of this week was the leadership council we had with President. He discussed many topics that we as a mission need to improve. He and his wife got emotional in some parts talking about some more serious issues, and the spirit was sooooo strong. It reminded me of the scripture in D&C that talks about with the spirit you need to "reporove betimes with sharpness" and then love the person you corrected. We could feel that scripture come to life and I was able to feel the love and care that our president and his wife have for us!

I hope all of us can take a part of general conference and apply it into our life, and review these amazing talks to prepare for april! Remember that joy has very little to do with our situation, rather it has to do with what we're focused on!!

Les amo un buen!!

Elder Millard

Pic 1: MY BEST MISSION FRIEND ELDER CASSAT IS LEAVING ME IN A COUPLE WEEKS! If any of ya'll see him at BYU this coming semester, give him a hug for me

Pic 2: my comp lost his head hahahaha

Pic 3: A bridge over the freeway to mexico city! Were only 40 minutes away!

 

More Time Please!

Como les va familia y amiguitos!!?

It was a great week here in Tiza! Weve been sprinting all over our area for a bunch of lessons every day! God has blessed us with a lot of people who are progressing well. We ended the week super tired from getting home late every night but I wouldnt have it any other way! The best feeling is at the end of the day, feeling super satisfied with all the work. We need more than 24 hours in a day to get to everyone! Thats a good problem to have though. Today has definitely been a blessing to rest a little bit more and prepare for another week!

The Lord has placed us into the path of really great people who are so willing to learn about the gospel! Many of them were able to go to church yesterday. Im super excited to invite everyone to general conference this weekend though, its gonna be awesome!

The highlight of my week was a lesson we had last night. We were teaching the Islas family. The family consists of the dad, the mom, and three daughters. The dad's brother is a member and returned missionary who is also married with a member and they also have a few kids. It was like our third lesson, and we watched the restoration movie with them. After the movie, we focused on talking about the book of mormon because thats what interests the dad most. We talked about it and then invited the dad's brother to share his testimony of the book. He shared such a powerful testimony about how his conversion. His parents kicked him out and disowned him when he told them he got baptized. He also talked about when his first wife, who he is sealed with and everything, died in his own arms from her cancer. But through all the trials, the gospel is the only reason he got through it. Everyone was in tears, and the spirit was super strong. I think it was a great wake up call for the family to realize that the gospel is real, and they need to do their part to get their testimony. I love the mission!

Elder Millard

Pic 1: Since I didnt take other pics this week, heres a random pic in a gated community in our ward with our cone that shows we have permission to be visiting.