A Fight with a Metal Door = Studying in the Hospital

 Hello, my lovely friends!

 I think I say every week that it was a wild week…but for real this time, it was a wild week!

We had Zone Conference, exchanges, hospital visits, ward FHE, giant spiders, and of course miracles! So, hold on for a wild ride!

There were so many miracles that happened this week and I absolutely loved it!

I got the wonderful opportunity to be companions with Sister Latavao on exchanges! She is from Tonga and is an amazing missionary. She is so hard-working. I learned a lot and it is always a good time to work with and learn from other missionaries.

However, on exchanges, I lost my water bottle! I was sooo sad. If you know me, I love water bottles, so imagine my distress when one of my favorite water bottles was gone! I had left it on a tricycle. I didn’t know the number or owner of the tricycle, so I thought it was lost forever! However, the next day, one of our usual tricycle drivers learned of my losing it and made a special effort to locate it for me! I was so grateful and so happy!!! It was a win of the week!

After exchanges, I thought the rest of the week was going to be pretty chill, but on Friday morning as we were getting ready to leave the apartment, I got in a fight with our bathroom door…and unfortunately, the door won.

Our bathroom door is very difficult to open sometimes. We were in a hurry, and I couldn’t get it to open. I was tugging and tugging, and when it finally opened my toe happened to be in the way! The door sliced my toe a bit. The cut was really small, but the door is metal. So, I was told I had to go to the hospital to get a tetanus shot! 

All missionaries have an insurance card, but I had a personal goal not to use it my whole mission…unfortunately, I have now used the card so that goal is no longer possible. The good news is that I got a tetanus shot, and we got all our studies done in the nice air-conditioning of the hospital! Another miracle is that we are close to a big city, so the hospital is nice (some hospitals in the Philippines are not well-developed).

One more out-of-the-ordinary adventure was when we had ward FHE! It was a farewell party for a member who is starting her mission in South Korea! They invited us to perform, so we got to sing a song that one of the missionaries in our zone wrote. 

As we were preparing to sing, there was a part in the song that said, “The mission is not for a lifetime”, or in other words, this time as a missionary is short... Every time I sang it, I would choke up and almost start to cry—my companion could not stop laughing at me… My time as a missionary is flying by! I am so excited to keep giving my all for the rest of my mission.

One of the best parts of being a missionary is the miracles that I get to see every day. This week, my companion and I have been developing our faith in spending less time with people who are not progressing and trusting that God will direct us to new people. It has been hard sometimes! But we experienced real miracles as we tried to follow this principle. We felt that some of our experiences this week were in direct correlation to our choosing to have faith… After we finished teaching one of our friends, she told us that her sister wanted to go to our church. Then, her sister just showed up and asked when our church was and if we could visit her. (Sidenote: this never happens!)  Usually, we have to trick people into talking with us, and then they slowly get interested. But she came to us! Then on Sunday, she came to church, and she is now excited to come next week as well!! This was a miracle to me that God was seeing our faith, and that He will provide the miracles.

I also got to experience another miracle from my work in my previous area. Two of our friends, Amy and Mia, were baptized. They called me for the baptism, and it was amazing to see two of my friends enter the water of baptism! I am so happy for them. 

I had a lot of opportunities to think about my “why” as a missionary:

At Zone Conference, we talked about the real reason we are here on the mission: To follow God's Will. As I pondered how I have chosen to follow God's will and go on a mission, it reminded me of President Nelson’s talk, “Let God Prevail”. President Nelson said, 

“When your greatest desire is to let God prevail, to be part of Israel, so many decisions become easier. So many issues become nonissues! You know how best to groom yourself. You know what to watch and read, where to spend your time, and with whom to associate. You know what you want to accomplish. You know the kind of person you really want to become.”

When we choose to let God prevail. The hard things in life become much easier. We feel the guidance of the spirit more fully. It allows our will to be swallowed up in God's will. We can better “Think Celestial” as we let God prevail in our lives every day. We become better-focused disciples of Jesus Christ.

I know this church is true and I know that as we center our life on Jesus Christ, we will find true joy. I have seen it as a missionary. But even after my mission, I know that as I center my life on Jesus Christ, all will be easier.

The church is true, God loves you!

Be happy, Be brave, Be smart,
Love, Sister Miller

PS: This Sunday, I walked out of the room and my companion said “LOOK!” and I turned around and there was a giant spider. I thought it was fake, but then it MOVED. It was one of the most terrifying moments of my mission! I ran away in terror and left my companion to deal with it. She said she put it outside…so send prayers that it does not come back inside. I was hoping she would kill it, but beggars can’t be choosers, I am just glad it is not in our apartment anymore. Love you all!