Welcome to Bragado!

Dear Famalia:

Well, as you all know after seven blissful months I have been transferred to Bragado. Although it is hard to leave Lujan, I am working to put all my heart and soul into Bragado. I can tell this is a special area and I am looking forward to the many miracles we will see here. There are two Chivilcoy zones; North and South. The city Chivilcoy is in the north zone and I am in Bragado which is in the south zone. I think Chivilcoy is probably the biggest city out here and so both zones have that name. My new companion is Sariah Morales. She is great and I think we are going to get along really well together. She is from Veracruz Mexico and goes home in 4 months.

Guess what!  We got Lujan sweatshirts before I left!  Do you
 know how long it has been since I've worn a sweatshirt?
  It's sooooo great! 

My last night in Lujan was wonderful.  It rained all day, but we were pretty busy with lessons.  The last appointment we had was with the Fernandez Family and they were all waiting for us to come.  They bought a cake because we told them it was our birthdays the last week.  We played a little game to review the commandments and they are awesome and remember everything.  I told them I was leaving and they gave me a cute little key ring and Thomas wrote me the sweetest little note.  I am completely confident they will get baptized someday.  I love them with all my heart.  It was the perfect way to spend my last night in Lujan.

The Fernandez family.

This is the key ring from the Fernandez family.  Isn't it cute?
  Also, the key is the one that Hermana Castellanos
 and I had when we got locked out of our pench
 and had to redo the lock.  It's my reminder to
 always follow the Spirit key.

Bragado is great. We live in centro which is a lot bigger than Lujan. Sunday morning from about 2:00 until 7:00 we heard all the young people outside from their parties (it's pretty much the norm in Argentina to party until 7 or 8 in the morning every weekend). It is a lot further from the offices (we have to take a colectivo at 2:00 in the morning) as well as everything else. All of the areas are about an hour away and the colectivos are very sparse so we will spend more time traveling and waiting to travel for divisions. We also don't really have meetings in person with our district; they are all over the phone. Unlike my part of Lujan, most of the streets are asphalt and  the people have a lot more money. It's still a lot more calm than the other big cities of the mission though so I'm super happy. We don't get lunches hardly ever from the members so I will have to learn how to cook on a very limited budget. Our branch president is one of the senior mission couples, President and Sister Aldridge. We are here in our branch with the zone leaders. Our apartment is super small but it's really new and pretty. I'm pretty sure our bathroom is the nicest one I've been in in 7 months. We even have a tub so the water stays inside the shower. It's beautiful!

This is the view from our apartment.  We are on the fifth floor.

I was not able to go to Lachi's baptism this weekend because it is too far away and we had a lot to do in our area. At first I was sad and wanted to be a part of the great happiness and party that I knew was going on in Lujan with my baptism and my members and my Lujan. But then I remembered that it is not my baptism, it's Lachi's. I really was just a bystander to his miracle and I have no right to selfishly want to be there. That day was his and his family's and I am so grateful to know that he has changed his life and will be blessed forever. He is one of God's chosen here. One of the most humble, sweet people I have met in Argentina and I am so happy for him.

This is Lachi and the Peralta family.  Aren't the kids adorable?

The first miracle I have experienced in this new area occurred on Friday night. The branch had a noche de hogar (Family Home Evening) planned and we were in charge as missionaries. When the first family walked in the hermana came up to me and said, "Hermana Millet! I've been praying that you would come to Bragado!" I had never seen this woman in my life and was a little confused, however, she proceeded to tell me that she found my blog and she reads it every week. She had come to know me through my letters and felt a connection. This sweet sister had even been praying for my investigators. Although it was a small moment, this tender mercy touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. I do not yet know why the Lord sent me here to Bragado but I know he has a plan for me.

Hermana Romina Martinez.  This is the wonderful Hermana
 who reads my blog.  I can already tell we are
 going to be best friends!

One of my challenges that I am anxious and excited to work to overcome will be with the Hermanas in our zone. Every one that I will be going on divisions with I know well. Hermana Suarez was my trainer and Hermana Redford and Alley were two of my companions in the MTC. It will be a little difficult for me to be in a situation as a leader with these hermanas in which I might have to give advice or correct behavior. I know I will need to work to humble myself and embrace the power of my calling to help these hermanas reach their potential but I have faith that the Lord qualifies whom he calls and that if I am confident and loving I can do what the Lord needs me to do.

I am so excited to see what Hermana Morales and I can do with the help of the Lord in this area. Our main goal this transfer is to find a complete family and bring them to baptism as worthy converts. Right now I do not believe obedience will be a problem but I want to make sure we are completely diligent and are using our time in the best way possible. Although our numbers this week were real, I feel that we can be using the indicators in a better way to have lessons with members with our progressing fechas and find our news from references etc. I have hope that these small changes will lead to great miracles as we strengthen our faith.

This week we were disappointed when our fechas who were extremely committed to come to church didn't show up. I am grateful for the fact that sacrament meeting is first here and we have ward council before hand so we can't go search for our investigators in the morning. It helps us to make better plans with our investigators beforehand and helps us to see who is really  willing to make the effort to come. I believe it is a blessing in disguise as we are able to now focus on finding families that will really progress and be worthy, lasting converts who will help the branch here in Bragado.

One of our investigators in Sacrament meeting was Evelia, the mother of Daniela, who was baptized last weekend. She attended the baptism of her 22 year old daughter the week before and said she felt something which she had never felt before. Daniela almost didn't come to church today because of a meeting she was supposed to attend but her mom said she was going to church alone and walked out the door. Daniela then realized what she needed to do and followed her mother to go to church together. Later that night we had a lesson with them and shared the restoration. Evelia felt the spirit again and told us she believes that this is Christ's true church. She is praying to really know that is is God's will for her but I am confident she will be baptized this month and it will not be long before we will be able to touch the hearts of all of Daniela's family. I am so grateful for these miracles that we are able to witness as Heavenly Father touches people's hearts. When people are prepared by Him our role is really so small and insignificant, which is how it should be.

Love, Hermana Millet