Miracles and Baptisms

 Hello friends!!

 

This week was a busy week! But it was absolutely fantastic so let's jump right in!

 

First…drum roll please…

 

THE CALIGUIRAN FAMILY WAS BAPTIZED!!

Ahhh! I am so happy!! It was so cute!! And it was a miracle too!

 

At the beginning of the week, Sister Nicolle (she is the oldest daughter in the Caliguiran family) texted us and told us her school had changed her schedule and she had a class on Saturday now! We were a little stressed because she studies in Tuguegarao, which is at least an hour and a half away. But her class ended at 4, so we moved the baptism to 7:00 with hopes that she would make it back in time. And she did! It was a miracle! The baptism was able to continue.

 

This baptism was probably the most spiritual baptism that I have experienced on my mission. I could tell they had a true desire to be baptized. They were excited about the covenants they were making, and they had worked so hard to make their baptisms a reality. After their baptisms, the whole family bore their testimonies and it was truly beautiful. All of them were so nervous, but they bore beautiful testimonies about what they had come to believe and how they had grown. It was a testimony to me that I do have a purpose here. I am so grateful to be able to help them come closer to the Savior and help them find eternal joy.

 

The baptism was for sure the highlight of my week, maybe my whole year! I am sooooo happy for their whole family. It is an experience I will never forget, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have met this wonderful family. 

 

Another little miracle of the week… We have this family that we have been teaching for a long time now, but because of a safety concern, we were told we have to stop teaching them… This was so hard for me because there are two daughters (in this family) that Sister Nacar and I absolutely love. We have been teaching them for quite a long time, and they were nearly ready to be baptized. Not being able to teach them has made me feel at a loss. The miracle: the Elders were given permission—and they agreed—to continue to teach the two daughters for us! So, we don’t have to completely drop them which is a huge miracle. We are so happy to be able to continue to help them make this covenant with God.

 

This week, we also had Zone Conference! It is always fun to see old friends, make new friends, and learn from our mission leaders. It was a wonderful time! We had some great lessons on becoming better missionaries.

 

Overall, this week we were kind of running around like crazy. Between Zone Conference and District Council Meeting, we had limited time to work, but a lot of work to do! We somehow made it work! We were able to visit all our friends on baptism date, and we even got to extend baptism to a new friend! I truly felt the Lord blessing us as we were able to accomplish so many things in such a short time.

 

My favorite quote/conversation of this week: It was Friday afternoon and Sister Nacar, and I were pretty tired. It had been a busy week up until that point and we had a bunch of lessons scheduled for the afternoon. As we left our apartment, Sister Nacar said: “I hope that we get some miracles today.”

 

“Like what?” I asked

 

“Food.” she responded.

 

It was so funny. And so relatable. It is definitely a miracle to receive food when we are working so hard as missionaries. And to make it even better—we were blessed with a miracle of food later. So that was a win! 

 

Some days, it is hard to go out. Sometimes we are completely exhausted, but the work is so wonderful. I love serving the people, even when I am tired. These moments have given me a wonderful opportunity to learn about my Savior. When I am tired or feel like my Tagalog is not good enough, or I am tired of people staring at me because I am white, I remember that my Savior went through so much more. I feel Him carrying me when it is hard to be a missionary. I feel Him comforting me, and lifting me. He makes me so much more than I could ever be without Him. I am so grateful that I am a missionary now and I am so grateful for His perfect sacrifice.

 

For my spiritual thought, I want to share one of my favorite scriptures from the Book of Mormon. It is in Helaman chapter 5, verse 12, it reads:

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

 

I LOVE this scripture. When we build our lives on the Savior, we cannot be shaken. Satan is doing his very best to shake everyone. This is a time of storms, whirlwinds, and mighty winds. But as we build ourselves on the Savior, Satan loses all of his power. We can feel the love of God in our lives and our testimonies cannot be shaken.

 

I know that God lives and that He loves us. I know that as we choose the Savior every day, we are blessed. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to find true joy in this life and in the life to come. God is soooo good. He gave us a perfect plan so that we can ALL return to Him. 

 

I love this gospel with all of my heart.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Thank you all who emailed me this week! It really made my week special!

 

I love you all!

The Church is true, God loves you,

Be happy, Be brave, Be smart,

Love,

Sister Miller