Christmas Day Bonus! Hermana Milligan's Testimony

On Christmas Day we got a call from Lauree on Skype. I asked her to share her testimony with us in Spanish, or as she calls it Espanol. The Spirit knows no boundaries and when it is present it matters not the language you speak it will touch your heart and tell you that what is being said is true. After that it is our responsibility seek after that truth. This is her Christmas present. 

Week 74: Last Letters From Ecuador, To Family, To Mommy, To Daddy, Feliz Navidad

Buenas Tardes Familia!!

Well, I just want to take a few moments to write about a REALLY big miracle from las Monday.

So last week I sent fotos right? Well, we left the internet and when we were leaving our house I realized that I had left my memory card in the computer. I was sooooo worried, but remember how last week I wrote and said that my compa had told me a little about faith and if we have faith we don´t need to worry so much. So with that fresh in the mind I said a prayer soo simple and I decided to have a more faithfilled attitude and we had a full night so there was no chance to go back to the internet and see if my card miraculasly was still there. So my wonderful companion, had the idea to call one of the members here who has a car and see if she could go and see if my card was still there. And the whole night I was fighting the urge to freak out and loose hope, but to my great releaf my card was still there!!!!! I was sooo happy and I know that the Lord gave me a chance to exercise my faith more and more. I am so grateful to say that I was blessed to have a test of my faith just like it says in Ether 12: 6. I know that my Heavenly Father answers prayers and if we have the faith we can see the miracles. I know that my Savior lives and because He lives I can be forgiven for the sins I have commited. In the name of Jesuse Christ, amen.

This week is Christmas week and it is soo easy to get caught up in the hype for the gifts and the little things, but remember that Christ came to the world as a small babe and in the most humble of conditions and He gave us the example, we don´t need the most extravagant nor the biggest Christmas, we just need to remember Christ I invite you all to see the video from the Church that is He is the Gift. You can find it on youtube. and remember are you One of the Inn crowd or one of the Stable few? May this time be filled with the Spirit of Christmas and may you all have the time to recognize the Spirit. LOVE YOU ALL SOO MUCH AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Les amo mucho,

Hna Milligan

Wow daddy! Even separated by thousands of miles, we still have similar experiences. I also gave a talk yesterday and I shared a few of the same things about our Savior. and I also did not write my talk down. Jajaja Daddy, I think the Spirit was guiding us both the same day, well that is if the devotional was yesterday..... HOw neat is that? jajaja

Oh and I want you to know how much your letter really helped Hna Redondo. It was like her gas to keep going this week, her parentes don´t really write her much and so she was really touched by your words and for caring for her even though you don´t really know her, she is really excited to be able to talk you to this Christmas, she is practicing english a lot jajaja. 

So I don´t really think I will be writing this next week, so this may be my last letter to you from Ecuador. But Daddy, I just want you to know that I love you sooo much and trully I don´t have enough words to express how grateful I am for your support, for writing me EVERY week. I am soooo blessed to have parents sooo wonderful and loving and helpful. I know many others who don´t have parents who are so supportive and I don´t think that I would have been able to do it without you and your advice and love. KEEP IT UP!!! DADDY YOU ARE THE BEST!!! Oh and CONGRADULATIONS with your grades! we should go out to eat to celebrate jajaja

Just want to share a little thought that came to me this week, I don´t know if it is something that someone has already said, but here is my thought

The Gospel is not a box to be lived in, it is a gift to be shared.

I thought that and I was reminded of you. I also thought it was perfect for this Holiday season, trully the gift of the Gospel is meant to be shared with everyone, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son...." Trully that is the great tidings of Great Joy that we bring to the world, many think that they know Jesus Christ but there is a big difference between knowing of Christ and KNOWING Christ. The Restored Gospel is how we can Know Christ. As an elder once said the Bible is there to help us know that Christ exsists and the Book of Mormon is there to help us know were to find Him. I hope that this Christmas season you can help someone come to know Christ. Oh speaking of which, how is your friend, Matt Liverman doing? How is your friend, I don´t remember his name....oh John! How is he?

well, Have a very happy and Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Te amo muchoo

Tu hija,

Hna Milligan

Mommy you got 100%!!!!!! Woohoo!!!! We should celebrate and go shopping! jajaja Maybe even out to eat! :D I like that plan.

Well, I´m pretty sure that this is going to be the last letter that I send, because the next monday I have some sort of training and I think it will go the whole day, not to meantion it will be wierd writing just to say that we will see each other in a day or two.... jajaja But I know that things will be okay. So is there snow in the Valley or not? part of me wants snow and the other part will be just fine if there isn´t jajaja

Saddly I don´t think I´ll be here for the baptism...:( she was feeling really pressured and we don´t want that not to mention she doesn´t have all the lessions but that´s okay I know that she will be baptised soon and I know that I had a part in here story, but really I have come to know that the missionaries who are there in the baptism are not the most important, the most important are the ones that got you started and I know that I did that with thousands of people, I know that the seed is there and I know that it is a good seed. Speaking of seeds there is the cutest little old lady named María and she is just the cutest ever! She has a lot of health problems and so she can´t stay for the whole three hours sundays but she is the cutest ever! I love her she also has a baptismal date but in Januaray, I will be getting lots of pictures in Janurary. Honestly there are sooo many people here that are so special to me. I love them soo much. I had a very specail experience this past week that I will share with you later but in that expericne I was told that I needed to come here to Ecuador to learn to love and that I have fulfilled that mission. I can say that I love these people with all my heart. I love them sooo much that sometimes I don´t want to leave but I know that they are in good hands and that all will work out well. 

Well Mommy, we will be talking this Christmas and soo just so you know, I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH!!!  and I hope you have a very happy Christmas!

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!!!!

Te amo!!!

Hna Milligan

Week 73: Christmas Dinner With The President, More Miracles, Wise Words From Hermana Rodondo

So this week we had a very beautiful Christmas dinner with Presidente Chrtistensen, and we had a choir with the whole zone and we practiced and practeced and when it finally came down to it we sang...really loudly jajajaja but we did sing really well at the same time it was really great! I forgot how much I love being in a choir. These past days have been soooo very sunny and hot! Which is a bit strange because we are in winter here but hey I won`t complain jajaja

So this week`s miracle well miracleS, one was these two chicas named María and Fanny, so we met them last week and we passed by their house saturday at night to invite them to church and they said yes and guess what? They went to church and everything!! And they LOVED it! They have a baptism date for the 3rd of Janurary and ahh they are soo great! They take notes during the lesson so they can learn more! How great is that! And miracle number two is the Hna Margarita, so this week she told us that she didn`t want to be baptised at all, and that devistated us, it was like a nice cold stab to the heart. But she went to church this sunday and a few of the members were talking to her and one very bold member asked her and so when is your baptism and Hna Margarita turned and looked at me and asked when would be her baptism!!!! AHHHH I was in shock, literally. I said uhh the 20th not realizing that that is this saturday, and so then I had to change it to the 27th but she has changed soo much!! That was such a wonderful surprise! I love that woman soo much she makes us laugh soo much!

This is on the Trole, kinda like
Trax but worse

Well, my companion shared some very wise words with me this morning and I just want to share them with all of you, she said that worrying and fretting over something is in a way a lack of faith in the Savior. And well ouch, that really got to me, it was just what I needed. For those of you who know me, know that I am a worrier, I worry over everything, but it really got me to thinking, is my worrying getting in the way of my faith? Do I let my worries come first or my faith in my Savior? And well that is what I want to leave you with today.

Que tengan una super linda semana!!!

Les amo tanto!

Con amor,
Hna Milligan

Out shopping

Week 72: Excerpts From Letters to Mom and Dad, Whispering of Mormones, and Miracles for Jose

This is an excerpt from Lauree's letter to me: I thought you might like to hear a follow up on Jose Miguel, but first off I want to share with you an excerpt from her letter to her mother from the previous week.

November 24,2014

this is my viejita favorita her name is carlota
she asked me if i was a gringa
 and when i said yes she said then hug me!
 jajaja gotta love her

So I just want to share an experience with you. So do you remember the youth that I told you about the one who talked to us about the BOM? Well he was baptised yesterday! It was a really crazy experience. So for starters he is from Colombia and is only here for a short time to work and then he has to go back to his country, and well we thought everything would be fine but his baptismal date was 29 of november but he has to go back 1 of december. But the 29th is a saturday and then the sunday after is stake conference and they can´t give the holy ghost that day. Then he leaves. So we went through a whole long crazy process so he could be baptized before. But while we were going through this whole thing I felt really ancious and like it was all too rushed and that his situation that he would just go in active. But it finally came to me that I should pray and ask. So I did that and to be honest I go super confused. And all through the prayer I was even more confused... I couldn´t recognize an answer (how funny is that after helping sooo many others try to recognize and answer...jajaj) but I closed the prayer with well he´s going to be baptised tal day and tal hour. amen. And then I gave time and I felt all the nervousness and anxiety leave. I felt calm and relazed. I know that only God can give feelings of peace and calmness. That was such a special experience for me. I know that this youth, José Miguel is going to be a missionary, and he is going to help sooo many other people come unto Christ. He is a great kid! well I just wanted to share that with you mommy, LOVE YOU!

we played larping- if you don´t
know what it is like i did,
you should look it up jajaja

12/1/2014
we are having problems with the power here there was a total power outage and we had to leave to another internet que loco! well i don´t think i´ll get around to writting a general letter so here are few of the happenings of the week.. one we went and sang at an old folks home and it was such a neat experience, i saw one old lady who didn´t want anything to do with us, she kept whispering under her breath mormones, mormones. well we sang and then we were saying good bye and at the end she changed completely she was so grateful she kissed my hand out of gratitud and to see how just a simple hug could change them soo much. there was an elderly man who thanked us for bringing christmas early to them. that was the highlight of the week. i loved it soo much! also there are more miracles when it comes to josé miguel, so he has to go back to colombia tomorrow and the thing is that he lives 2 hours away from the nearest church and there are not any missionaries there. but, get this we has stake conference and it just so happens that a family that lives in the ward that he would need to attend just so happened to be there yesterday and they met him and traded numbers and how perfect is that. everything is working out perfectly to help that kid out. i think that spencer´s words about how the gospel will get to places that it is currently, well where jose lives it is in a lot of conflict and so there are not missionaries there but he will be going there and i know he will bring the gospel wherever he goes. i love this gospel sooo much. it is amazing! trully amazing!

well love you bunches and bunches! you can do it, i know that it is hard to keep up with the homework but i know you can do it! I love your thoughts they are trully inspirted, just wait you will be giving a talk in general conference ya mismo! jajaja love you daddy sooo much


tu hija favorita,
hna milligan

Week 71: A Baptism, Much Progress In The Work, The Book Of Mormon Given For Gathering Of Israel

So well I just want to tell you about this crazy week that I had. So do you all remember the story that I told you about José Miguel? Well he was baptised and confirmed yesterday, I´m going to send a foto (even though in the foto he doesn´t look very happy jajaja) It was such a neat experience, he shared his testimony after and it was very simple but he said that he felt so light and clean. It was such a powerful testimony that he shared! It was a crazy process that we had to go through though. I´ll let my mom fill in the crazy details. But that was such a great experience. 

Right now we have a lot of people progressing! it is like a Christmas miracle, before Chrstimas! jaja there are sooo many people who are prepared to recieve the Gospel of Christ ya! We have Henry, who is going through a lot of changes in his life but his is doing it! There is Mariana and her children who have gone through soo much but are trusting in the Lord. She is such a strong woman. There is Margarita who has sooooo many questions but has such a good heart, she wants to know! I love these people soo much. It is something soo incredible to know that the Lord can use me to help others come unto Him. The mission is up until this point in my life the best thing that I have ever done. It is also the hardest thing that I have ever done. But I love this work soo much!

So well we had an incredible training this week about how using the Book of MOrmon is how we can see the fulfilling of the Abrahmic covenent. It was powerful. The Book of Mormon was given in our time to bring to pass the gathering of Israel in our days. The Book of mormon is our strongest tool in helping bring others to Christ. We should make it our standard. I challenge each and everyone of you to find your way to make the Book of Mormon your standard each and every day. What can you do to help others come unto Christ using the Book of Mormon? 

Les amo mucho!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!! REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!!

Hna Milligan

Week 69: Food Baby, Zombie Dog, And Blessings Of Obedience...A New Person to Teach

Okay so I haven´t gotten much time to write a general letter.. so I am going to write this one first! :P

So first things first, last monday was a holiday here, día de los difuntos. Or day of the dead and also it was my companions birthday. they have a few traditions here for this day and most of them involve food. they have a drink that is called colada morada, it is like a thick beverage that is purple and has a lot of fruit, like strawberry, pinapple, and a few that they only have here. It is really yummy! But they like to give it with bread in the shape of a baby. I don´t really know why and no one else does either jajaja but it is really filling. REALLY filling and the thing is that EVERYONE gives it to you this day. And well Hna Redondo wanted pizza for her Bday and so we bought and ate pizza and then some members called us over to eat lunch with them. Chuso. We were full with the pizza. Then get this we had a FHE with members and guess what? They give us colada morada with rice and chicken. AHHH I was dying. But just wait that is not all. We went to another family and they knew that it was the birthday of Hna Redondo and so they gave us cake AND rice and some sort of meat. NOOOOOOOO we almost exploded from an over dose of food! If any of you have seen the movie about the sister missionaries, Errand of Angles or something like that. Well I can relate, when they give her plate after plate of food. I am going to come home with a lot more to love! jaja.


So I didn´t get to tell you about the week before last or Halloween... Well Halloween isn´t really a

think here. They do have parties but it is just an excuse to have parties. But that good old halloween day we were walking along and we see this dog, that was sooooooo very dead, it was left on the side of the road and had its legs in the air the head at a strange angle. needless to say it was VERY dead. and well we passed by a few hours later and the dog wasn´t there. But I look over on the other side of the road and there is the dog and it was breathing!!! AHHH Zombie dog! That was a halloween scare for sure :P


So, I have to share an experience that was really neat with you. So we have a district leader that is really awesome, he does everything above and beyond. But any way. He gave us a challenge as a district to carry a Book of Mormon in the hand for one whole week. And that is all and well, but it rains here like no other, that makes things a little complicated. But well my companio gave up on that after one day or so but I kept going and one day we were walking past a few chicos working, and well the habit is to ignore them, because the whistle and say anyoing things, But one chico calls us over and for some reason we go over and then he starts asking us about who we are and all that and then he sees the Bood of Mormon and asks us what it is. And well it turns out he is golden. Trully, he went to church yesterday and in prestehood they talked about consagrated oil and passed out the little containers for the oil ( I don´t know what they are called) and well he has his little flask for the oil. First sunday he came with a nice button up shirt and dress pants. That hardly happens here. WOW. The Book of Mormon is really a great great tool we have to help people become interested and to gain a testimony.
I have a question for all of you, you ready for it? How is your study of the scriptures going? I know what mine was like before the mission, almost non existant. I do believe that many many many of us as members take for granted the things we have, we think that we know the scripture stories and that

yeah we don´t need to keep reading. Well I can say that because that is what I thought. But think about it. Are you keeping the commandment to read the scriptures? It doesn´t take much just a little bit and you can have so much help in the day. So this is your challenge for this week. Will you read the scriptures everyday? For at least this week and then just tell yourself one more week. and then write down the blessings you are able to see more clearly. I can promise that you will be able to see a change it your week. I know that God listens, I know that He knows me personaly. I know that He is aware of where I am and how I feel. I know that Christ is my Savior, I don´t fully understand what He did for me, but I do have time to learn more and feel His love more. So for now I will know worry myself but I will work to understand the Atonement of my Savior better. I bare my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.


Les amo,
Hna Milligan

Week 67: Big Temptation, Glorious Tacos, A Frog, Finally A Real Missionary, Why Is The Secret To Perfect Obedience

So this week a lot of little things have happend. One, one of the biggest challenges of my mission. So every saturday, we eat lunch in a restaurant owned by members and well it is a restaurant and they have a huge big screen tv. But normally they just watch football or WWR or something like that and so there is no temptation jajaja but this saturday was a different story.... That´s right. Lord of the Rings, right there in front of me. AHHHH it was aweful. I died a little inside but I was strong and didn´t watch it jajaja

Another event in the mission, this tuesday our momita couldn´t make us lunch so we called another family and well they made us tacos!!! We about died of happiness! I think I ate about 8! hahaha I was about ready to roll out the door jaja after day after day of rice and soup I was sooooo happy jaja! They know how to make two missionaries happy! Just give us tacos! 

Another little thing, after 15 months of my little brother Matt asking me if I have seen a frog (a live one) I can finally say that I have seen a live frog! It was a land mark moment and well I did not have my camara. Jajaja But hey it happened.

As for event number 3. I got bit by a dog!! Dumb dog. It wasn´t anythig big, it didn´t draw blood or anything but I was just walking in the door when this ugly little thing just comes up out of nowhere and bites my leg! What the heck! But now I can say that I am a real missionary jajaja The thing that makes me more mad is that my new pair of tights now have a great big hole! Ahh jajaja 

Well this week I have been reading in Mosiah for the chapters with Abinadi and it really makes me think a lot about obedience. (especially Mosiah 13) This is when he teaches the 10 commandments and it is really an interesting thing obedience. We have soooo many rules in the mission sometimes I couldn´t help but think that there are too many but I have come to realize that the rules don´t matter, now now don´t get me wrong! We have rules and commandments that we need to obey. But trully what does it do for us if we obey but our heart is not in it? The thing that really matters is why. Why are you being obedient? Because you are afraid of the consequence? Because you want blessings? Or because you love your Father in Heaven and want to do all you can to please Him? I know that obedience when it is perfect obedience comes from love for my Creator, my Father, for my Savior. As Abinadi said that the salvacion does not come from the law but that we must obey but with the spirit of Love. That has been one of the things that I has really called my attention this week. I invite you all to read Mosiah 13 and think about it. I know that The Book of Mormon is trully another testement of Jesus Christ and that we can draw closer to our Heavenly Father when we read and study the teachings in that book. I share these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Les Amo mucho!

Hna Lauree Milligan