Week 38: Calling All RMs, More Miracles, A Family Of Five, And Ether 12:6

This was a really crazy week! I good week as well. Full of tender mercies. So we are in white wash, o sea, when both the missionaries in this sector are new to the sector, and to add to that we cannot knock doors.(from those of you who have served missions I would love ideas on how you were able to find people with out knocking doors) So the past week and the week before was a bit of a drought for people to teach, we have been working on gaining the confidence of the members and that is going really really well. We went to visit the home of some members and one of their sister in laws is living with them and her two children. Because of a tragedy that they are going through. The 13 year old son, was given a vaccine for the flu and it went horribly wrong and he is in more or less of a vegatated state (I am more grateful than ever for the vaccines that we have in the states). And we taught them The Plan of Salvation and the father works on a fishing boat and is gone for months more or less so we gave him a book of mormon and he was really excited to read it. But the miracle with this story is that the first time we visited them the son was really not there if you get what I mean. The second time he said "chao" and shook our hands. And the third time he stood up on his own and was able to say that he likes Hna. Vélez. jaja. It is such a miracle to see him progress like that it is amazing! 

Second miracle for the week. So in our quest to find new people we turned to the area book and the old investigators(the maps that we have are horrible and there are not addresses) so we had to go around asking people if they know so and so. Great way to find new people as well. But one of the people that we contacted was a man just working on his motorcycle. And he told us we could come back on sunday and his wife will be there as well. so we went back sunday and on e the way we found a member who went with us to the cita. And it turns out that they were there, and it is a family of 5! Woot! And they are really great! we are going to see some more miracles I can feel it! The thing is that I have been praying to find a family of 5, with a daughter of 15 years, and two sons, 12 and 10 years old. And that is not quite what we found but we did find a family of 5, mom and dad, a daughter of 16 años, and two sons one of 13 and the other 8. ¿What? Yeah. How cool is that. I will be sure to fill you in on the progress of this family. 

My companion is amazing! She is the only member in her family and has gone through soo much to be where she is today. She has a suppper strong testimony and I am learning sooo much from her. We laugh soo much. And we are working really hard. I love her!

Okay so I just want to give my testimony of Ether 12:6. It is soo true we do not recieve a testimony till after the trial of our faith. This past week was the trial of my faith and yesterday I recieved my testimony of that I have to endure with patience and if I do that I will recieve the testimony. It is true. I know that my Father in Heaven loves me, I know He loves the people here and I am soo incredibly grateful to be here and to serve the people here.

I know that Jesus is my Savior and I know that he not only died for me, but he also lives for me. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week full of miracles and blessings.

Les amo!

Hna. Milligan

Week 37: Stolen Back Packs, Some Confusion, A New Companion, And Be An Example

Yep, it´s true, we got robbed. They took our backpacks whole. That was probably one of the biggest disapointments ever. I mean they took my scriptures!! 8 months of studying and use and cariño. Gone. They were good, the theirfs. Very tricky if I do say so myself. Although I might just say that so I don`t feel as stupid. jaja. So what happened was this. We were sitting in Subway(yes, there is Subway here woot!!) and just eating and talking when a man and a woman tap us on the shoulder and say "oh, your keys fell" and low and behold there were keys on the ground, we look down to  pick up the keys and the next thing we know, our backpacks are gone. Yep, that is the strategy that took us. My only hope is that they read the Book of Mormon and feel remorse for what they did. Thankfully they didn`t get much in way of money and things of "worldly value" But our scriptures are gone and that was a hard blow. Really rough. But hey I have new scriptures and it is a new experience to get to know the scriptures better. What ever happens I know that this happened for a purpose. Something good is going to happen because of this. I have faith.

Just gotta say that I love the couple missionaries that we have here, they helped us a LOT when we got robbed, they got us new backpacks, new books and such and so we are set with the basics. They are the best EVER.

Just to clear a few things up from last week. So I don`t know if that is really my new calling in the mission or not, that of "health specialist". I´m confused about it a lot. but for the time being we are living in the best house in the mission and have certain perks. That´s right perks, we get to eat at the Ghent´s house everyso often, that is quite nice (American food!!). I think I am here to help my companion with things that she doesn`t quite know in ingles.

Oh, I have a new companion. Ella se llama, Hna. Garcia, de Chile. She is super sweet! I love her! She just came in

an emergency transfer of missions. They had to take out all the foreners of her mission and she got recalled here. Woot! she is super sweet and things are going to be great! That is pretty much my week. Our sector is HUGE and we have hills, stairs, more hills and more stairs, and even MORE stairs. I am going to lose a lot of weight here, I can feel it. jaja

Spiritual Thought for the week.

Remember that wherever you are to be an example of the believers. Although you might not believe it people are watching you to see what you will do and how you will treat others. Some thing that I am learning right now is to not be in such a hurry that you forget the people who you pass in the streets, always show the world that we as members are friendly, happy, and willing to help. Live up to your baptismal covenents. And above all remember the blessings you have and that you can have as you keep the commandments. 3 Nefi 18:11 y 14.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Les amo bastante!!

Hna. Lauree Milligan

Week 36: Another Transfer, Assistant To The President, More Miracles And Much Happiness....

Well it´s that time again....CAMBIOS!!! And I bet you will never guess, but I got transfered AGAIN. Jaja. Suprise, suprise. This time I am in zona Santa Ana barrio Vargas, I am with Hna. Vélez she is from Puero Rico and is also from my group. She is sooo awesome!! We are going to see some great miracles, I just know it. I feel it in my bones. Jaja
But the real catch to this transfer is that we are like the assistants to the President regarding all things...wait for it....NURSING. Yeah. How crazy is that. The mission nurse finished her mission and we were left without a nurse. So what does that mean? Well it means that we are in charge of setting up medical appointments, helping the new sisters when they come in and if a sister is really sick she will stay with us. Also, Pres. Ghent and Hna. Ghent are finishing their time here in July and they need missionaries who can help the new mission president when he comes get all situated and such. And that is when we come in. Honestly, this is rather strange if you ask me, but we are going to see some great miracles. Lo bueno is that we get the house of the mission nurse and this house has a washing machine AND dryer and a microwave and hot water! WOOHOO!! So that is the dealio with the transfers.

Now for the miracles for the week, 

1. So the family that reciently got baptized, well they didn`t want to give certain things that we need for the paperwork part of this and we were trying and trying to help them understand that it is okay and that nothing would happen because of it. And for a long time they just didn`t want to give it. But right at the last moment we called them to try again and she was like "oh of course hermanitas" but all the way in spanish, and we were able to get that sent off. And they are a lot more open to things and it is going a lot better. 2. So, I have been praying a lot to find a family and also someone who is ready to make changes in thier life. And we found both in one. When I was on diviciones with another Hna. We found a family, the husband gave us their number and we planned a cita. When we went to the cita they weren`t there. But we kept going back and we found the wife and she let us in and she told us that her husband works a lot and that her other children as well. Okay, that`s okay we will work with what we have. Then we planned another cita for then next day and we go for the cita and guess what, the husband is there!!! We invite them to be baptized and they accepted! We then had a tour of the church and we watched the video of the Restauración and we asked them to pray as a family, they did. We asked them how they felt and what they thought and the father said "queremos entrar" o sea, we want to enter refering to the door of baptism! I about cried. It was one of the most beautiful times of my life. Turns out that they want to make changes in their life to become better have a stronger family and return to live with a son who died not to long ago. And they are married. It is quite a blessing to have been there and to have been able to meet them and help them even for a little bit. Because now I am in another sector. But I know that they are in good hands, Hna. Mora is still there and she is going to help them and they are going to have una familia eterna!!!

I love you all and hope that all is well with you and I have a wonderful week!

Les amo!

Hna Milligan

Week 35: Peanut Butter, Soul Searching, Something To Learn In Everything, Testimony Meeting

Well, I finally did it. I finally bought peanutbutter. Even though it is like $4 for the smallest jar of peanutbutter that I have seen in my life. I am sure that it is worth it. jaja.

This week has been one week of much soul searching. and I think I am starting to vanquish my dragon. The mission is not easy, there are so many factors that are outside of our control, for example the agency of others, pretty much the biggest one out there, that makes it a little hard sometimes, when you want sooo badly to have just one investigator in the chapel or just want that one amazing family to accept the baptism invitation and they say no. Or when you are feeling soo lost and confused in a new sector and you hardly know anyone and your companion gets sick and gets emergency transfered. There are so many things that happen in the mission that you are not expecting. But from EVERY SINGLE THING there is something to learn. EVERYTHING. I have learned that, I can do hard things. I have learned to trust in the promptings of the Spirit. Sometimes I don`t even do that well, but even in that I can learn. I knew the mission would be hard, but even knowing that doesn`t prepare you for what is out there. A very wise person (if you are reading this, you know who you are) once told me that the MTC is a spiritual pressure cooker and that the mission field is the MTC for life. Well I have yet to experience life not as a missionary or a premissionary, and then I can testify of this. But I do know that I am being prepared for something better. 

Yesterday in fast and testimony meeting one hermano said something that really struck me, "sometimes the Lord lets us fall deep, so he can lift us up even higher."(that is more or less what he said but in spanish jaja) I challenge you to remember that when you are feeling down. Your Father in Heaven is preparing you for something better. Which leads me to something else that another hermano said yesterday. " The gospel doesn`t change your life, it changes your eternity." Wow. that way of looking at it never really struck me till he said it. And it is true, in this life you are still going to have problems and struggles but your future, your eternal progression is what is going to be even better.

Scripture for the week 2 corintios 12:7-10. This is one of my favorites. the last part says, "When I am weak therefore I am strong" the Lord can do the impossible, He can take someone who is hopelessly flawed and burdened with weaknesses and make them strong in His hands. That is when faith comes in, and faith without works is dead so then comes the repentance which is when we truly trust in our Lord and Savior.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE.

Les amo bastante,

Hermana Milligan 

So daddy I just wanted to tell you about one miracle for the week. So this past monday, our leccions fell through and so we knocked doors. We knocked this one door and a man answered and he is called Wilson. And we challenged him to baptism in the door way because we couldn`t go in with out another sister. But he accepted and oh okay well that`s great. And we planed a cita with him for the next day, and when we went he wasn`t there. Well with that we kind of put him out of mind. it was like yeah, he just ignored us and all that. Then this sunday, yesterday, I got really sick, like we had to get permission to go buy medicine but when we whent to the farmacy there was Wilson, and he told us that he wasn`t able to make it the other day because he got attacked and robbed, but that he had read the pamphlet that we left him and he wants us to return and that he wants to go to church. That was quite a miracle. Daddy, thank you for your patience and adviece, I am working on changing my attitude right now. It is my dragon. And it will be vanquished. jajaj. 

DADDY I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART!! You are doing great things! Give mommy a hug for me and Grandma milligan

I talked to Pres, Ghent the other day and he told me the stop listening to my fears. And Well I felt like you were there telling me that and not him. I love you.

Tu hija 

Lauree

Week 34: The Off Tune Singing Sisters, Elections Week, According To Your Faith

Well I really didn´t know what to title this so I just put the song that Hna. Mora and I sing all the time in the streets. Jaja We sing all the time in this compañerismo. I LOVE IT. jaja. Now we don´t sing well, I´ll have you know, but we sing and in the mornings for comanion study we try and sing songs that we don´t know and it is something quite funny, but I love it. It´s great. 

So this week was the week of elections here in Ecuador and here it is mandatory to vote, if you don´t vote you can´t get paperwork that you need to get jobs, go to other contries, or just function like a normal person (I can imagine what my dad would say to that jaja). And for that there weren´t very many of our investigators in town. Almost all of them are from some other part of Ecuador and as such they had to leave and vote in there part of town, or country. So this week was a little bit slow. But hey it´s all done now. Woohoo!

For this Fe de febrero, milagros de marzo, we have been studying a lot about faith and miracles. Go figure. And tomorrow we have a conference with Pres. Ghent and I am really excited for this. The conferences are always super uplifting and inspiring. But something that I have noticed as I study is a little frase " according to your faith" that is almost just as prevelant as "ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened." And it really got me thinking, were is my faith? And what does faith really mean? I came to the conclusion that I don´t think I will ever fully understand exactly what is faith, just that I will have to continue taking that one step at a time that is faith. As it says in Ether 12:6, we do not recieve the testimony (o sea miracle) till after the trial of our faith, just that one step in the darkness, that one prayer of faith. But there has to be the action. We cannot just say that we have faith and ya all is well. James 2: 14. Without the work it is dead. 

I love you all and hope the best for you this week and for more faith to take that step and continue forward.

Les quiero mucho!

Hna Milligan