TEMPLE PDAY THIS WEEK - 24 July 2024

The temple is finally back open after the renovations inside and so we as a district got the chance to go to the temple today!!!

Also super super big thank you to all who sent birthday wishes yesterday! Birthdays on the mission can be a drag sometimes but it was an awesome day to be alive!!

So to jump into the past week and a half, we have had lots of good things coming for us. We've started meeting with this girl who wants to be baptized and we've gone over a few times to teach her all the principles before her baptism. We've got an incredible relationship with this family and I'm super excited to see her enter into a covenant with God. In fact for my birthday they had us over for a lesson and dinner and they ended up making me cupcakes and lit a candle and sang happy birthday to me so it was so so nice to be there for that!! 

We had exchanges with our zone leaders this past week which was lots of fun. We drove around downtown Richmond, found lots of interesting people, had delicious dinner from a restaurant off main street and just had the time of our lives doing missionary work! I will never forget the many things I saw and heard, I mean cmon, it's downtown Richmond Virginia, full of some of God's funniest, most awkward, kindest, most interesting people! It's awesome!!

Another thing I got to do is, as district leader I get to interview people before they are baptized and it is one of my favorite things to do. To sit down with someone who is ready to make a covenant and just hear their conversion story. So as our mission is striving to baptize weekly, that means I get to meet lots of people who are ready for baptism! It honestly changes my perspective on finding because some of the people I've met have literally been found in some of the most random circumstances ever, like at a gas station or a subway parking lot or a dollar tree! It's so cool. 

Speaking of baptisms, as we finish this transfer in a week, I'm super excited to help all the miracle people we've found get baptized, 2 of which are very promising and if God continues to work, we could have 2-4 more people make a covenant these next 6 weeks! One of them is awesome, she has been coming to church and has been felloshipped like none other! The ward has taken her and her mom in as their own and I'm so grateful that we have such an awesome ward where our friends feel so comfortable at church and at activities! So as long as we can get a steady appointment, come September she will be ready for baptism!! 

Other than those friends, there isn't much new updates on anyone else. We have been trying out new methods of finding as walmart is pretty much completely dry and we've been kicked out plenty of times that we probably need to give it a few months to rest. Our other finding spots like food lion and gas stations are just tense when we go. We have to go at certain times for it to work well. But we've been getting into knocking doors at night and visiting people as well as just turning off the car, grabbing the bikes and hitting the road talking to everyone as we bike by. That's the one thing I'm worries about with this next transfer is the struggle it might be to find. But I know God won't stop the work as long as we are willing to get out and talk to everyone. 

Sorry this email is kinda long but I read a cool scripture the other day and with us being kicked out constantly I thought it was relatable! It's Mormon 8: 21-22...

"21 And he that shall breathe out wrath and strifes against the work of the Lord, and against the covenant people of the Lord who are the house of Israel, and shall say: We will destroy the work of the Lord, and the Lord will not remember his covenant which he hath made unto the house of Israel—the same is in danger to be hewn down and cast into the fire; 

22 For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled."

I mean that sums up all my thoughts on this topic perfectly. No matter how many times the cops are called, or we get kicked out, or yelled at, or spit on, or chastised for doing what we are doing, God's eternal purpose shall roll on!!!

Anyways sorry for the long email, I hope you have a fantastic week and stay cool if it is hot where you are, because it is very warm here, love yall tons!!!

-Elder Milius 

ALMOST ARRESTED AGAIN - 15 July 2024

What a week! There was lots of highs and lots of lows for this week. It honestly was a pretty crazy week but it was a good one in the end. But how is everyone doing? Hope your having a great Monday. To jump right in let's start with the bad.

So about halfway through the week we had exchanges with some elders in our district. Things we gonna be good but as we started going out finding we ended up getting kicked out of every place we went to, then when the other set of elders went to a finding spot that we had previously been kicked out of, they got the cops called on them and they had a very long situation to figure out with the cops. Fortunately the cops just told them not to come back but ever since that exchange, things have just been so tense with finding. It feels like we are being watched like a hawk. Since the town is so small I feel like everyone knows who we are and has seen us before so everywhere we go it always seems like cops are following us. We also had a member who happened to be a cop chastise us for public contacting. He threatened to call our Mission President and I wanted to just tell him that our mission president is the one encouraging us to do this so your phone call won't get anywhere. 

Anyways that is really all the cruddy part of the week. Finding has been paused for a little. However I think God knew we would struggle with this so he has placed so many people in our paths to help prepare for baptism. On Wednesday we put 2 of our friends on date for baptism which was incredible. We also have a family who we want to put on date this Sunday. Then we kept getting texts and calls from members saying they want their kids baptized and so we've got 2 unbaptized youth who want to prepare soon for baptism which is incredible! This has never happened on my mission. I think God knew I needed some motivation and so he has given us so many opportunities to baptize! I am praying me and my companion stay this next transfer cause for my last transfer, we potentially could have 5 or more people get baptized and what a way to end a mission that would be! Ah I'm enjoying my time very much right now. While day to day can be slow, these past couple months have flown by. Soon ill be 20 and soon ill be giving my departing testimony at zone conference. Soon I'll be meeting with president for my departing interview and soon I'll be getting on a plane leaving all my energy in the mission field. It's a bitter sweet thing to think about but I'm so excited to see how my last couple months of the mission entail for me! God is so good and he is the reason we've had so many miracles. For I am weak and am nothing but with God I can bless lives! 

Anyways I hope yall have a great week! Keep being awesome and don't forget to read your scriptures! 

-Elder Milius 

I’M A BUM AT WRITING EMAILS - 8 July 2024

OK OK, yes I missed another week for my emails. I need to be better so yall know what's going on with me. So I'm gonna try to recap all that has happened the past couple weeks. I will let you know though, the first week I didn't have much stuff happened but I'll write a little bit. This week however was a cool one, especially yesterday! It was a miracle Sunday!! So let's get into it.

June 24th-30th

So this week was a long week of finding, we found a couple cool people but then they ended up not being as cool as they were when we first met them, which is a daily occurrence here. Anyways, some cool stuff that happened though was on Thursday we went up to louisa and did some missionary work up there. From us Louisa is like an hour drive so it's an all day thing. We spent a lot of time at some parking lots finding people but when it all came down to it, the only place we were able to find people was at a gas station! We then had dinner with this member who is kinda crazy haha. She says she has the gift of seeing spirits and while she may be telling the truth she was telling us all these stories about these non human entities she's encountered. She even said that while we were speaking one of them had made presence in the room with us. So that was a little wack. 

This week was going the same as last week, we spent lots of time at parking lots, specifically this one food lion that doesn't kick us out which is really nice. We spend hours there in the week just inviting everyone we see. It's gotten to the point that I'm recognizing people I've already asked which may annoy people but hey maybe eventually they will just say yes! 

This week we did get to celebrate the Fourth of July!!! God bless America!!! It did however start pouring rain on us while we were street contacting and so it kinda put a damper on fireworks but it cleared up before night came which was good. After 6 though, we went out to go do some more contacting but everywhere was dead. There were few cars on the road and a few cars in parking lots so we couldn't really do much, so we spent most of the night at the church calling through our teaching pool. It was a fun way to spend the fourth. I did get to enjoy some brats and chips and soda for dinner which was delicious! 

OK time for miracle Sunday! So we get to church and one of the friends we invited showed up with her mom! It was great to see them and they enjoyed fast and testimony meeting a lot. Then we had an awesome second hour lesson about why we in our church share with people what we know and it's because we want people to know the truths that mean so much to us and have healed us so much. That way they can see how important this is in our lives and possibly come to see how it can change their lives. We'll after church our friend looks at us and asks us about baptism because she feels she wants tk be a part of this church family and so we told her we can help get her baptized within these next couple weeks!! 

Then at dinner time we had a lesson scheduled with a member referral. This family was going through a lot but the member came in and just testified of how the gospel can change their lives. So we shared the first lesson about the church, about Joseph Smith and about the Book of mormon. We gave every member a copy of the Book of mormon and even gave them all blessings as well. Going into the lesson I was a little nervous but the spirit was so strong in that room that I knew God had lead all of us to that very moment. The mother even mentioned she wants to be a part of a church and help her kids get baptized so next Sunday we are gonna go over there and hopefully give them a date ti be baptized!! 

An absolutely amazing week for us and I am so happy this is how ill get to spend the rest of my mission! It will keep me so focused and so hyped up on what my missionary purpose is, to preach repentance and Baptize Converts! Anyways, I hope yall had an awesome fourth! I miss you all, I love you all! Talk to you in the next one! 

-Elder Milius