IVE BEVER BEEN MORE MOTIVATED TO GRIND THAN RIGHT NOW - 20 November 2023

Good morning everyone! Yet another week has passed us by and I will say, while this week was full of lots of things to do, we didn't do too much finding unfortunately. Which didn't look good for people having lessons with us, which didn't looks good for people who come to Sacrament. So this week when you look at our Key Indicators, is one of the worst weeks of my mission. But I swear we were working hard and doing everything we could in our control. It just sucks to see us donut shopping pulling straight 0s all week.

Anyway, this week was kinda for elder robison to say goodbye to people, we got to go over to have dinner with a few members and have lessons with our recent Converts so elder robison could say goodbye. It was relatively a fun week, we were busy like every second just with meetings and member lessons and with elder robison packing.

Come Thursday we had to pack and leave for Richmond cause the visa waiter in our district had his flight that night so we headed up to the Mission office. The whole day was really fine up until we were about 10 minutes late to the airport and the kid that was leaving feels around and can't find his phone, so we spend an hour looking for this phone. Finally we find it but now we are like an hour late to the airport! So we rush over there and drop him off, his flight was leaving at like 5:30 and we got him there at like 4:50! It was nuts, then me and my comp and our DL (who was without a comp) all went to Buffalo wild wings and just had a blast! We then slept over at the APs apartment and chilled the rest of the night. 

Then come transfer day and I got ready to meet my new companion! So I'm sitting there, trainees on the other side of the room. Finally they call this one elder and president read off my name and the crowd went wild! I went up, gave him a hug and we got ready for the trip home. My new trainee is named Elder Weaver, he's also a visa waiter waiting to go to Mexico! So that's pretty legit. He is also from Arizona so that's friggen lit! He's a homie though, we've had a blast the past couple of days. I honestly am so surprised, we talked to this one guy on Saturday and he was going off, testifying of the plan of salvation and everything! I have never been more proud lol.

Sunday came and I had to give a talk in church, I focused on missionary work and how it connects us to the Savior, I think it went really well. Our ward is so small that it really doesn't feel like I'm talking to a ward. But Sunday was chill, we went out knocking and visited a bunch of members, unfortunately we weren't able to find anyone. That was the most depressing thing to see our KIs for the end of the week but literally I can't see 0s again, I'm gonna work hard these next few days pleading with the lord to help us find people, to help us have lessons, and to help us get friends to church on Sunday. 

So with Thanksgiving coming up I probably am not the first nor the last to share what I'm grateful for but...

I've never been more grateful of yall before in my life. Everyone who has helped me become the man I am, I thank you! I love my mom, I love my dad, I love my brothers, I love my sisters, I love my grandparents, I love my great grandparents, I love my cousins, I love my aunts, I love my uncles and I love my friends! I seriously am so grateful for all yall and wish I could be with you for this holiday season. I'm however so grateful for the savior. I'm grateful for his atonement, for his love, for his example, for his strength, for his help, for his compassion, and for his mercy. I'm so grateful for all this that I want others to be grateful of it as well. There are thousands of people around us who may be struggling, who may be depressed, who may be hurt, who may be stressed and a simple hi, or smile, or anything that could lift their burdens could mean the world. The savior is the way to that joy we all need and I'm so grateful for it that I want to share it with the world.

Anyways that's the highlights of my week, got a new kid and a new transfer ahead of me. Things are just trekking along!! Aight keep it real, have a blast week. Enjoy the Thanksgiving, don't get too fat!! 

-Elder Milius 

 

MY CHILD - 13 November 2023

So this week was sorta interesting, there was a lot that happened but not a lot that happened if that makes sense. But the transfer news has been received and I found out that I'm not only staying in my area but I'm recieveing a new missionary straight out the MTC! Absolutely wild. To be honest this is gonna be my first time actually training, I follow up trained a visa waiter a couple transfers back but I was in a trio and he was a beast so I didn't feel like I was training him. But now im gonna be alone with a kid, and he's gonna be literally the freshest out the MTC! So that's the crazy news that will soon come to be next Friday! 

But this week was good! Monday night we had dinner with a family in the ward and it was awesome, we had a great conversation about everything relating to the afterlife and all that. We got deep into Doctrine which is cool to try and understand with our very narrow minded minds. 

Tuesday was a long day, we had a lot of finding to do which didn't see for much success unfortunately, but the Wednesday we had an exchange with Providence and I got to go with my DL! We had to bike though and lemme tell you, we had a long bike ride today. In the end we biked prolly bout 20 miles round trip all over the area! It was nuts. We did teach a very interesting member though, he made us monkey tails which is apparently some sparkling water and fruit juice, idk it was pretty good. Then we had an awesome book of mormon study with this one lady and it went well. We read through 2 Nephi 4 and answered her questions about what each phrase meant spiritually. Then we had a member dinner so that was a great way to end out the night. 

Thursday was also a rough day, we had three lessons planned with three of our most progressing friends and who would have guessed that they all fell through! It was kinda frustrating especially because it all fell through right at the beginning of the day. So we had weekly planning instead and knocked some doors with one of our members, then we got to go out to dinner with this member and he took us to a pizza restaurant in Chesapeake! It definitely helped our spirits.

Friday was wild!! We had district council today and throughout the whole transfer, we had some struggles in our district with being diligent, and I'm not saying we were perfect either but there definitely was others who needed to improve. So my comp gave a though and basically just dropped the ball that we aren't working hard enough and that we shouldn't have to be worried about "running faster than you have strength" because we all weren't running our fastest. It kinda made some of the missionaries in our district mad, there was lots of tension all day. But it hyped me up honestly and that night we grinded the find like crazy!! 

Saturday was prolly one of the hardest days but the most rewarding, like last week. Idk what it is but Saturday is just always hard for me. We were dragging ourselves along all day, not finding anyone but continuing to find. Then we called it a night to go home and call one our friends we met the first night I was here. Holy nuts!! We had an amazing lesson with him, we had a member join our call, the spirit was so strong especially at the end because he kinda just gave so much thanks for us talking to him and teaching him. He said he will forever remember the day we pulled up in our car on a dark night to come out to talk to him! It was awesome, then our member bore a strong testimony and we ended with ours as well! It was so strong and I still remember the night we met him. We had one of our members question whether or not we should go visit this one area but I said let's just do it! And when we arrived I saw this guy and felt so strongly to talk to him, so I did and now here we are! 

It's so cool how the lord puts people in our lives and places them perfectly at the right time for us to meet! God truly is in this work, he seriously isn't gonna let it fail and even when it's excruciatingly hard. It's worth it when you have a lesson like that. 

Anyways this is quite the email so ima end it here! Love everyone! Talk to everyone next week when I have a child with me!!!

-Elder Milius 

THE TEMPLE AND HALLOWEEN AND TEXAS ROADHOUSE - 6 November 2023

Yo how's everyone been!! Hope your doing good, things have been chilling here in Virginia Beach. This week was one hecka long week but it was OK once I got through it hahah. 

Monday we spent the night with the Providence elders and had an exchange the next day. On the exchange I went with Elder Xhang, who is gonna be serving in Taiwan soon. He's pretty cool, we had a good day. We had an awesome lesson with one of their friends on date which was cool. He's like 19 so it was me, my comp, him, his buddy and another guy. I felt like I was just hanging with my friends! It was sick, I miss that fr. But then after that we were getting close to finishing the day since it was Halloween so we had to stop proselytizing by 6. So we decided to go visit this one yellow dot in their area. When we pulled up, we realized we had her address to her apartment building but not her apartment number. So we were like well, let's just knock the first floor. So we go and I just pointed at a door and told Elder Xhang to knock it, so he does and a lady answered and we ask if she knows Lea. She said she was Lea!! I kid you not the first door we knock on was hers! It was crazy!! We taught her bout the Book of Mormon and set up a time to come back! That was a cool miracle for that day.

Then after 6, we were obviously gonna go get dinner and yes, my favorite, we went to Texas roadhouse!!! Let's go! Had a delicious steak! Ya know the usually! Thanks mom and dad for the gift card!! 

Then on Wednesday we went to the temple in Richmond which was like 2 hours away! It was a long trip, this day honestly wasn't the best. I have been pretty sick with allergies and so I was struggling to breath all day 🤧! But we had a great temple session then hung out a little and came back home to just relax for a little. But honestly that trip killed me because I just got more sick and my head wanted to explode. So I loaded up on drugs, thanks dad. Now I'm tryna blow this over

Saturday was prolly the worst day of my life, I was so sick. My head was pounding all day but I didn't want to burden my comp so we just drove around visiting a bunch of people, and fir some reason I wanted to go home but felt like I needed to put in the work. So we work hard and I was dying, barley walking. Fortunately I think the lord looked down on us and our efforts because we had three phone call lessons with some of our friends which all went through! The lessons were really great lessons too! We ended up finding 3 of our friends and felt like our efforts were rewarded. God's pretty cool with that.

Today we had zone pday which was fun, we tie dyed some shirts then played some gym games, nothing too crazy! 

This week and last week were all just a blur, we've been finding but we haven't been able to get a solid person to start coming to church which kinda stinks but we are working hard and if we don't get someone baptized while I'm here, I can confidently say I worked my hardest I could. I'm enjoying it too! Life has been crazy the past year but I wouldn't trade it for the world, even when im broken and literally done with all the rejection and the exhaustion and the life of a missionary, I know I'm not gonna give up because this will be the best thing I've done for the rest of my life. I love it, I love God, I love yall, I love life! Hope yall do too!! Anyways I will talk to yall next week, bouta go take a fat nap! 

-Elder Milius