WE BAPTIZE! - 26 February 2023

Yo! What's up with all yall! It's a great Monday here in the VA!! This week was a great week! So let's get right into it!

Ty was baptized!!!!!! He finally entered into the waters of baptism and his spirit was so filled! We had members coming up to us after saying how much they could recognize tys desire and spirit to be baptized! It was incredible!! Then on Sunday we were planning to confirm him a member and give him the holy ghost. Satan tried to pull all the strings to keep him from coming because right as church starts, he texts us saying his car broke down but that he found a ride and was on the way! He even recognized how Satan was trying to keep him from coming but he knew this was something he needed. He even said after his confirmation that he genuinely felt the spirit enter into his heart!! It was so cool. And to just add to this all, he brought his friend to church with him and she was so uplifted by church, she wants to come back and get to know our members more!!! We are seeing some awesome miracles pour out and I can't wait to see where this takes us! 

Other than tys baptism, we've been finding lots. I had a cool spiritual prompting turn out good! We were finding at a shopping center and I talked to this one lady but before I could finish she had to go back to work. When we were heading home I felt a prompting to turn around and go talk to her. So I did and I was able to get in all I was trying to say and set up another time to calk her! So that was pretty cool! 

Oh yeah! We also had zone conference this week! It was a great rejuvenating conference! Our president taught us about the Book Of Mormon, the promises it gives and really just the fact that we shouldn't let silly out of context things shake our faith and how the evidence of the Book of mormon isn't necessary but is there! There is absolutely no way that Joseph Smith knew all about the historical things recorded in the book of mormon, enough to write a story from imagination. The Book of Mormon is truly the word of God because it was truly a record of ancient inhabitants that testified of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus Christ is in the Book of Mormon. 

Aight that's my email for the week, nothing else crazy happened but we have high hopes for next week just with the people we have found and the lessons we have set up for this week! So stay chill, stay alive and keep on living a life close to God!!

-Elder Milius 

CHANGING TRACKS - 19 February 2024

Hello everyone!! It's a great day here in Virginia! The weather is amazing, still cold some days but most of the time when the sun's out it’s nice!!!

Anyways, this past week has been awesome! Lots has been going on but it's all gonna be for the good! I think I mentioned it last email but we had to drive up to Richmond a couple times this week so Tuesday was lowkey shot. We didn't have much happen then, Wednesday was a long day of finding, we did have an awesome lesson with our friend at Panera bread. She had lots of questions written in a notebook so we just went over all her questions about Christianity and the Book of mormon. 

Thursday we had lots of meetings and traveling as we had to pack up my temporary comp and get everything ready for transfers which transfers happened on Friday. And I am now with Elder Sims, from what I know, he's a beast. I'm excited to get going on the transfer and get into everything so we can start to see some miracles!! We also had a fire lesson with ty on Friday which went really well! Then Saturday was a longer day of finding. We did some weekly planning too which took like 3 hours. 

Sunday was one heck of a day. We unfortunately didn't have anyone attend sacrament which was super super sad but we were able to schedule a couple lessons with friends in the evening. One was with ty and as soon as we got to the lesson, we knew it was gonna be an interesting lesson. We talked bout tithing which from knowing ty, we knew it was gonna be hard to hear that. But when we were talking we had a member who has such a strong testimony of tithing and the blessings poured out from God. Ty took this lesson hard though cause his circumstances were really freaking him out and then to hear he has to pay tithing was hard to hear. But he had the faith, he just basically said if this doesn't work, he was gonna lose everything. So we promised him crazy blessings and the spirit was so strong despite the fear and doubt that was running through ty's head. Fortunately things started clearing up and ty began to be hopeful! So this Saturday ty will be able to be baptized into God's true church on earth and he will see how the lord will bless him as he lives the gospel! 

Anyways that's my email, this next week gonna be crazy just because of all the planning we will do for ty and also trying to grind the find. I never remember how hard transfers are until I have them. All the missionaries around me all changed, either went home or somewhere else and it was honestly depressing but Sunday was a day I needed to reboot and get focused back on the important things. I made so many great friendships this past transfer and I know they'll live on forever, for now I'll go back to work and serve the Lord! Aight talk to yall next week!!! Love yall tons!!!!!

-Elder Milius 

DRIVERS GONNA DRIVE - 12 February 2024

Hello everyone! Today is the last pday for the transfer. I got news last Saturday that I will be staying in my area for another transfer and I am super hyped as we have great people we are teaching! 

Ty is doing amazing! He is so ready and accepting of all we talk to him about. He loves the ward and the ward loves him, he is truly elect and it's been such a pleasure being here with him. He will probably be my favorite friend I've met on my mission. 

All of our other friends are good too but lots of them have brick walls they are trying to get over. I truly believe all of them could be baptized here soon if God provides the miracles they need to keep moving forward. So pray for them all please! 

This week has been a little chaotic, we got news that Elder Weaver is headed to Mexico and so the whole week we were tryna plan out all we could do so elder Weaver could say goodbye to people. Then the APs called us Tuesday and said he was leaving Wednesday afternoon and so we canceled everything, Elder Weaver packed and we drove up to Richmond to drop him off and say goodbye. It was lowkey kinda sad, me and Weaver had so much fun together but he's off to bless the lives of many down in Mexico!! 

Then I had to drive up again to Richmond to take the other visa waiter to go get his visa so after church we quickly picked up the other elders and headed out for Richmond, drove back and got home at like 8. Then tomorrow morning we gotta do it all over to pick him back up. Then with me getting a new comp, I'm gonna drive back up to Richmond on Friday! Then when we take the visa waiter to go to Mexico I'll have to do it again!! I've literally memorize the trip to Richmond cause I've been there so many times! 

Well that's all the updates I git for the week, nothing else crazy has been happening, next week's email will be super sweet as I'll have a new comp and a new transfer ahead! 

I can't really share more of a testimony than I know God Is real, it's an undeniable fact that there is a Supreme being but even better is that this Supreme being is a perfect father who loves each and everyone of us. Don't let the world tear you down because this world is not eternity, the way we live right now will not be the way we live in the future. Peace will be forever, stress will be diminished. God will reign and sadness will end. So if you are worried about what the next step holds for you. Remind yourself of what's more important, the love of God! 

Alright I'll catch yall in the next one! 

-Elder Milius 

FROM BASHER TO “ON DATE” - 5 February 2024

Hey y’all! It's a great day to be here in the VRM! Hope it's a great day for y’all as well! My week was super sweet, we had lots and lots of miracles! God is truly hastening the work here in Virginia! 

So to get going, Ty is still doing amazing, we had a dinner/lesson with him and some members and it was so awesome. He has the most perfect questions ever and our members just testified of their experiences and he wa loving it, he is so ready to be baptized. He is already telling everyone about it. He literally wants to fly his grandma from Jamaica to see his baptism. Then he came to church on Sunday and obviously it being fast Sunday, there were lots of members testifying if the church and the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Then afterwards ty told us he was praying to know if this church was the right path and then just felt God speak to him while our members were sharing their testimonies! It was so awesome!! He is so excited to be baptized, just pray he doesn't have any word of wisdom issues or anything like that so we don't have to push his date back.

We had another friend come to church as well, he is chilling but unfortunately has so much on his plate right now. He is from Cuba and is battling trying to get his green card but needs the money to pay for lawyers but just doesn't have enough time to do so. We are really relying on the lord right now. If God be willing, and our friend keeps coming to church, we believe a miracle can happen so he can stay in the U.S. and be able to make a covenant with God. So please pray for him so everything will work out!! 

Now to get to the title. We have this one friend who previously talked to missionaries who apparently he bashed with cause he didn't believe in our prophet or the Book of Mormon. We took the approach to just love him and solve his concerns in a friendly matter. We helped him overcome a lot of problems with our church and he is now reading the Book of Mormon a lot. Last Tuesday we read 2 Nephi 31 with him which talks all about baptism and then my companion at the end invited him to be baptized and the spirit just took the works! He is now on date to be baptized in March and If you asked me when we first started teaching him that he would be on date to be baptized, I would tell you that you're crazy! But here we are, God is a God of miracles!

We had an interesting experience with the sister missionaries this week as well. On the day we had the dinner/ lesson, the sisters spam us basically saying they need a blessing asap. They said they were being followed by a demon and one of the sisters felt it touch her. They were lowkey freaking out and I believed them completely. So we came by and gave them a blessing and it was honestly super cool to see what was in the blessing. My comp literally afterwards said he was thinking basically everything I said and word after word just felt like the spirit, it didn't even feel like I was speaking. Then we also dedicated their apartment so they felt safe. It was crazy, kinda spooky but the power of God is way stronger than the power of the devil 

OK that's my week. I'll keep yall posted bout my comp next week cause if things go smoothly, my comp will be in Mexico by next Monday and I'll have a new companion for a week. God has seriously had such a huge part in everything that is going on. I've got Mosiah 14: 5 on my mind which is...

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

I've focused so much on how this principle not only applies to us as individuals but also our relationships with others. Because of christ, our area is seeing miracles. Because of christ, people are preparing to recieve the gospel. Because of the atonement of Jesus christ, things are slowly coming together. The atonement doesn't just save us from sin but also saves the whole world from brokenness. Fear is disturbed by the atonement of Jesus Christ. Hate is diminished by the atonement of Jesus Christ. Joy is emerging because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Contentment is found because of the atonement of Jesus Christ! 

OK I hope yalk have a great one! Talk to yall later!! 

- Elder Milius