9/1/14 TO THE TEMPLE!

This week we get to go to the temple! Yay! Wednesday morning, early early. Yay! Today is a half-pday, so sorry for not a lot of responses. I will send more letters soon but just so ya'll know that I got them and I LOVE ALL THE LETTERS AND MESSAGES. Thank you. I am overwhelmed by all the charity being poured out upon me by my family and friends. You all are an inspiration to me, and in the hard times, those things help me and boost me. Thank you. :)

So wanna hear what I learned this week?
I learned that I need to be more humble, more patient, and more hopeful.
It was a rough week, and a good one too. Sister Carter and I are getting along just as well as I have gotten along with other companions. It took us a little longer, but now we have it all smooth sailing.

It was a hard week with people. Pray that we can find those elect that are searching for the truth.

Well, here's the rundown of this week.

Monday: Pday.
We taught a less active, and I sliced my finger open on a chair during dinner with a homeschooling family that I really connect with in the ward. That was fun. Funny for everyone else. :) I've had a gimpy finger all week, but now it is good. #SisterMillerMoment

Tuesday: District meeting. So awesome. Our district is named "Watermelonisha" because the District Leader is obsessed with watermelon. We eat a lot of watermelon. Anyway, we learned about inviting people to sacrament meeting.


Wednesday:
I went on exchanges with Sister Majors and that was fun. we had all of our lessons (almost all) cancel and so in the middle of the day we walked around. We talked to 53 people on the street. That is a lot of people, Just so you know. And we invited everyone to come to sacrament meeting. I fell asleep doing teaching records that night. It was a crazy fun day though.

Thursday:
We did weekly planning and taught some Less Actives. I also went to a Relief Society Dinner that was pretty fun.... my companion and I fit right in... the elders on the other hand. Well, that was funny. Anyway, we had a couple of members bring their friends. Pretty cool. Hopefully that goes somewhere.

Friday:
Sister Carter went to MLC in Santa Rosa and I went with Hermana Sommerfeld to a little town near Vacaville named Winters. Cool little town. I go to listen to some lessons in Spanish. We picked up two new Spanish investigators and also got dropped hard by some investigators. Needless to say it was a roller coaster of a day. It was good though, because it taught me a lot about patience and why it was important and how I could start working on it, and it also threw me into a deep thinking process over the weekend.

Saturday:
We taught Lynn again. She is so awesome. She totally want to get baptized still. Yay! We went over the Book of Mormon and started her reading it. It hit me and my companion a few days ago that we are doing everything we should with Lynn... we are teaching her simply, bringing members, bearing our testimonies, and most importantly, we truly do love her. I really want this to work out for her.... Please pray for her to make friends in the ward that will really love her.


Sunday:
No one showed up to church. Not even Lynn. Not even Eli, because he found a new job and had to work. I cried during the third hour, when we were all combined. We weren't even learning anything that deep... just about the proper use of technology at church.... and it's not like I haven't had other Sundays where I was disappointed. I don't know. I guess I just was so frustrated with myself for being impatient. It is hard sometimes as a missionary. You learn so quickly your weaknesses. They are ever present because it's no longer about you. If you mess up, it doesn't effect you as much as it affects others. And also, even the best missionaries can't escape the effects of sorrow that other people's agency cause. This has been so weird for me as a missionary to wrap my head around because people are constantly not progressing and when it ends, like it so often does, you are left wondering if there was something more that you could have done...

So I guess all Sunday I had these thoughts running through my head. We've also been having some frustrationg with someone who is supposed to be our advocate who asked us to disobey some simple to do mission rules. My companion and I are struggling. Good thing we have elders in the ward to smooth things over, because she and I were just going to let the awkward sit. We've since repented, but yeah. Sunday really helped.
 The first talk in Sacrament meeting was about Gratitude and I was rebuked lovingly for not writing  in my journal every night like I used to. I also need to express more gratitude and not take the knowledge of the gospel for granted.
The second talk was on patience. No words needed.
Through all of this I just felt so overwhelmed with love from Heavenly Father. When I say rebuked, I really mean course corrected, like a gust of wind helping wind-surfer not fall into the water. The Lord corrects those that He loves, and He always lets you feel His love afterwards.
This morning I was reading about the Nephites right before the Savior comes. Wow. They had problems. Literally every five years they struggled with their weaknesses, repeating the same mistakes over and over. But the Lord still sent prophets and missionaries to them. He was patient. They were patient, even unto death.

So I've been lovingly rebuked.

And my heart is full of gratitude. I looked up at the stars last night before coming in to go to bed after a hard, but very very good day. I just looked up at those sparkles in the sky, and I just had this feeling, deep and quiet inside, that Heavenly Father was speaking to me.

I love you all! Even though no investigators showed up, I learned the importance of church attendance. We go to church because we are imperfect. When we go with a heart of repentance, we are cleansed, and we receive instruction to help us be more like the Savior. then we renew our covenant as we take His name upon us again.

I know that He lives, and that His grace is a real power.

Love you all!
Sister Darby Eleyce Miller

I learned a lot this week. :)