Family,

This week I have continued to learn about faith. It is amazing how each month as I have tried to focus on an attribute of Christ sometimes I don't even know what I need to learn in that month but as I am open to the whisperings of the spirit I find that is exactly what I need that month.

This week I set out to have faith that we could complete our indicators by Thursday and find new investigators. Each day I found myself getting more and more stressed. Wednesday night I wrote in my journal that I didn't know what more I could do. I was beginning to get frustrated with my Heavenly Father as I felt that I was working as hard as I could and wasn't seeing the fruit of my labor.

Jennifer with her companion Hermana Castellanos

By Thursday we still hadn't found any new investigators and the stress was beginning to strain on our companionship. We had a bit of a revelation during weekly planning and companionship inventory and we discussed our unity and what was holding us back. We realized we had both been feeling some type of obligatory faith. We felt that to have faith we had to be worried or the work needed to be difficult. As we talked, however, we came to understand that real faith is trust in God's plan and that when we trust in him we don't have to be stressed or worried as long as we are doing all we can. That afternoon we continued to work with all diligence but still only found 2 new investigators.

That night, however, my entry in my journal was much different. Instead of being frustrated I had peace. I knew that we had done all we could do and that if I was patient the blessings would come in the Lord's time. Although we still had 6 new investigators to find, my stress level was much lower than the night before because I had finally figured out what real faith is.

The next day after our special leadership training we had about three hours to work. We set out full of faith and determination and we were blessed with miracles. We found two families and two other individuals. One of the families, a mom and her 5 children (3 of which are of age to be baptized) accepted a baptismal date. We taught about families, the temple, and baptism. It was one of the most beautiful lessons of my mission.  Unfortunately, they already had plans to go out of town and didn't make it to church but I am going to continue to have faith that we can teach to their needs and help them progress toward baptism.

Rolando's Baptism

 Another amazing blessing this week was the baptism of Rolando. It was beautiful! We had so much support from the members that there were not enough chairs! Rolando bore a sweet testimony after the ordinance and was grinning from ear to ear. The next day we talked to his son Luciano who told us he could see a change in his dad. Our next step is to work with the family of Rolando so they can all enjoy the blessing of finding the gospel. Rolando is probably the most prepared investigators I've ever seen spiritually and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of his conversion.

My biggest concern at this point is getting investigators to sacrament meeting. My goal this week is to really focus in every single lesson on the Sabbath day and going to church. We have some wonderful prospects for baptism this month and I am determined to achieve our goal of three baptisms. I know the Lord is preparing people and I need to do my part to help them repent and have a desire to attend church.  I also want to be an example for the Hermanas in the mission. As HLE I know we have a great responsibility but are also blessed to be able to accomplish what we need to according to our diligence and obedience.

As I mentioned earlier, this week we had a special leadership training. President was super strict with the zone leaders. He's great but also super scary lol. The mission isn't doing super great with numbers this past month or so. Apparently, there are also missionaries that are super disobedient as well and they are trying to stop all these problems now. It is interesting to be in these meetings and hear a little more about what goes on in the mission world. He also talked to us hermanas separately and got after us as well, but in a much kinder manner. Our percentage as leaders is lower than the rest of the mission and the hermanas as a whole. As leaders we need to be an example. With great power comes great responsibility. (Name that movie! Easy, I know.) It's a lot of responsibility but I really want to improve as well.

Today we went to Ramos again to be trained so that we can train other missionaries this Thursday in a special training in Ramos all day. We'll be waking up at 3:00 to be in Ramos at 7:00 and be training all day and get back home probably right in time around 8:30 or 9:00. It's going to be a long day but also really fun and a great opportunity to learn.

Today we had to practice teaching a principle in front of President, the assistants, some of the zone leaders, as well as a few of basically all the best missionaries in the mission who have extended for another few weeks. I was super duper nervous and we didn't do great but I learned a lot. I think this calling as HLE is more for me to learn than anything and I'm super grateful.

Don't know if you can really tell how dirty I am, but I just wanted to
 show off how hard core we are. 

Another fun thing we are doing right now is reading the Book of Mormon as a mission. I have decided to do it in Spanish! I usually do my personal study in English so I can learn more and feel the spirit more strongly but I decided it is time to challenge myself a little more with the language and I want to read the whole BOM in Spanish during my mission. It takes a little more time and I don't understand it all quite as well but so far I am loving the experience. I think Hermana Carter posted the schedule on the blog if you want to do it with me (in English of course)! You're only a week behind if you want to. :) I would challenge all who follow my blog to read it with me.  The mission blog address is buenosaireswest.blogspot.com.

That's all for now. I love you all sooo much! Sorry this email was a little weird. I'm a little distracted and out of the routine today.

I LOVE YOU!

Sincerely,

your favorite Shankee (They call all the American's Yankees but with the accent it is pronounced Shankee.)

Hermana Millet

Familia,

Hello everyone! I love you sooo much! I hope you enjoy all the pictures I have to send this week. It's been awesome!

This was going to be your first clue, but you already figured out where we went last week on our P day.

Last Monday we went to the Lujan zoo.  It was so awesome!!  It cost 200 pesos to get in but since an Elder here can get 10 pesos for 1 dollar it was basically 20 bucks.  And it doesn't cost anything extra to touch all the animals! AWESOME!!!

This is my "Ah, I'm touching a tiger" face!

Oh hey there tiger. What's up?  I'm only three feet away from your face! 

Parrots...Good thing I have two arms.

It's a lion!  As if petting a tiger wasn't enough.

Sister Castellanos and I together with Leo.

Thanks again for all of your emails and love and support and prayers. This week Hermana Castellanos will appreciate your prayers so that we can get all of our work done by Thursday. On Friday we have a leadership meeting all day in Ramos and on Saturday we have the baptism of Rolando!!! Therefore, we need to work quickly and efficiently to get all of our indicators as well as take care of our other two baptisms for the following week and find new fechas (baptismal dates).

Our baptisms coming up are: Rolando (this Saturday)
Bruno (the 1st of Feb.)
Walter (the 1st of Feb.)

Our awesome district.

Other random exciting news:

The other day we were walking through the field to get to Amaghino (one of our areas) and we heard a noise in the bushes. We looked over and there was a snake moving around. Not just a little garden snake though, it was HUGE! Literally the size of my leg. Needless to say we are extra observant when we walk through the field from now on.

The snake was THIS  big!

We got bicis! (bikes). They were delivered on Saturday (they are kind of terrible and need to be repaired) but now we don't have to walk 5,000 miles to church and district meeting. The other problem is we don't have room in our pench to store them but luckily we have nice members who live relatively close by. We haven't used them yet but we're excited.

It has been insanely hot again. But we're working through it. I'm kind of fried right now, especially the back of my neck, but we're surviving!

Do you like our tan lines?

On Friday we had a Noche de Hogar (family home evening) in the church. It was wonderful. The missionaries shared our testimonies about the Book of Mormon and then we did karaoke. All of the songs were in Spanish and I didn`t know any of them but Hermana C. and I sang anyway. It was great fun.

We have a new baptismal date for the 1st of February. He is the nephew of a member and was in church last week. We talked to him, set up a lesson and he wants to be baptized! He is 11 years old. His mom is great too but she is juntado (living with someone) and can't be baptized till she gets divorced and then married again. She fully supports his baptism though and he has the support of his aunt and uncle! YAY!

As you already now know from the Buenos Aires West mission blog I have been called as an Hermana Leader Educator (HLE). I am kind of overwhelmed and super humbled because I know there are so many other sisters with more experience than I have but I'm also super grateful for the opportunity to learn and love and serve the Hermanas. I am praying to be an example as a missionary, in our area, and to help the hermanas feel our love. There isn't a great feeling about the HLE right now and a lot of the sisters aren't super excited for us to come because they don't want to be corrected. In Ventura the feeling was totally different and we all loved the HLE. I really want to help develop that kind of attitude here. So far my goal is just to let them know I love them and am here to help them with whatever they need.

The Hermanas of Lujan.

I think that's all the random fun stuff. Now here is the spiritual side. It has been an awesome week and I have learned and grown personally a lot! Here is the excerpt from my letter to the President:

This month I have been grown dramatically in my understanding of faith. In the beginning of my mission I felt that I had faith. I knew that Jesus Christ was my Savior and that I could be saved through His atonement but I have begun a great journey in developing greater faith to work miracles this month.

This week I have seen evidence of when my faith is strong the results that can happen and when I do not exercise all of my faith how I cannot be blessed.

Hermana Castellanos and I prayed with all our hearts this week in hopes that we would be able to stay together as companions and we are so blessed to have this opportunity to work together once again. I am also humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve as an HLE. I know that I have so much to learn and improve myself, and that it will take a lot of work to earn the love and respect of our hermanas but I am grateful for the opportunity to grow and develop greater love for them. I am also grateful that Hermana Castellanos and I have the opportunity to serve together. The unity of our calling has already brought so much more strength and unity to our companionship and I look forward to growing together as we focus on serving the hermanas under our care and strive to be an example in our own area. It is a great responsibility but also a great blessing.

This week we struggled a little more than usual to achieve our indicators. On Monday and Tuesday we felt that our plans were almost perfect. We had a balance of lessons with members and investigators, plans to find news investigators and contact referrals but everything seemed to fall through. We were somewhat discouraged but determined to improve. I have learned through other experiences throughout the week, however, that what we were lacking in our plans was the faith. We were pleased with our plans and our efforts but hadn't taken the time to really rely upon the Lord and ask Him what He wanted us to do. I am learning that true faith requires significant effort and work mentally, physically and spiritually.

On Thursday we had an experience that has changed the course of my mission and quite possibly my life. I will not try to describe the details as it was an event extremely sacred and one that cannot be explained with words, but it was experience in which I learned what it really means to save a soul.

Our investigator Rolando was hanging on the balance of choosing to accept the truth and the promptings of the spirit or listen to Satan. As we talked with him in our lesson we fought like I have never fought before to save his soul. We were extremely bold in inviting him to repent but we were filled with the love of Christ. Throughout the lesson I prayed more fervently than I have ever prayed before and I could feel the power of the spirit physically in every ounce of my being and surrounding the ground in which we sat. After we testified of the truthfulness of the gospel and his need for baptism he decided to say a prayer and ask if baptism was the right decision. Afterward he put his face in his hands and just cried. Hermana Castellanos and I cried with him as we felt the spirit overwhelm us all that he finally knew without a doubt and had accepted the truth.

This experience was incredibly beautiful and life changing. We saw Rolando experience, within the space of an hour, the change of heart that all worthy converts must feel. His entire countenance changed. After we left the lesson Hermana Castellanos and I cried together as we said a prayer of gratitude for this miracle in the life of Rolando. Yesterday he had his interview for his baptism and the smile on his face as we walked out of the room was absolutely magnificent.

My testimony has grown significantly from this experience. For the first time I realized what it means to save a soul through baptism. I realized what real faith, real charity, real humility is. We were truly the instruments of the Lord and I will forever be grateful that we were able to witness the miracle of repentance.

I love you all sooo much! Thank you for your prayers and support! Please let me know who needs my prayers. I am anxiously awaiting the package from Zobells! Hooray!

I'm so glad we are a forever family!

Love you!

Hermana Millet

Family!!!!

Guess what I did today! I cut my hair for the first time in almost 7 months! I hope the lady did a decent job. I certainly feels a lot better. We are also going to have another adventure today with pictures to come next week since it might be our last week in Lujan. Anyone who can guess what it will be gets a prize! (Eric Schwaar is excluded from the guessing game).

Also, before I start in on all the spiritual stuff, guess what happened Tuesday in Ramos!!!! It rained like crazy in the morning and for part of the afternoon, we still had to go out and work though so out the door we walked. As we got to the area we needed to visit the streets were like a river, literally. You would't believe it if you saw it. No lie, we were walking with water up to our knees. The roads were blocked off for cars and colectivos (buses) but there we were, two hermanas, wading through the streets. I'm pretty sure it was the closest I will get to swimming in my mission. It was insane but also wonderful!

Anyway, I think that's all for the fun stuff...here's the missionary part:

This week I am so full of gratitude for the blessings and miracles we have had in our area with our investigators. Each night I have gone to bed thinking that I can't be more blessed. I have really felt the hand of the Lord this week to know that He is pleased with our efforts and is helping us to succeed. I had kind of lost that feeling for a while and was searching for how to improve to feel His acceptance of our efforts. I ended this week still knowing that we have a lot to improve upon but also knowing that the hand of the Lord has been in our work.

As I mentioned last week, we weren't able to work in our area on Monday and Tuesday. It is a goal in the mission to finish our weekly indicators by Friday and therefore is always our goal as well. This week we were blessed with so many miracles and were able to do so in just 3 days! It was amazing!

We have two investigators right now that we are working extremely hard to qualify for baptism this month.

Justina is 76 years old and has some type of dementia or Alzheimer's. She reads the Book of Mormon every night but can't remember what she read the next day and we have to remind her about her baptismal date every visit. On some days she is as sweet as can be and so grateful for our help and teachings. On other days she doesn't want to talk to us and continues to insist that she is Catolico Pastolical Romano.

I have really been searching the direction of the Lord to know His will for her. On Wednesday we had her pre-interview and it went wonderfully. She answered each question so well! I was ecstatic and felt that this was the answer from the Lord that she is ready for baptism despite the difficulties with her mind. That evening we called President Carter to obtain permission to baptize her with only 2 attendances in Sacrament Meeting due to extenuating circumstances the week before. He didn't answer and the next day we also couldn't get a hold of the assistants. The zone leaders told us to go ahead with her interview anyway, however, when the district leader and us showed up at her house she didn't want to talk to us and her grandson told us she wasn't home. This train of events was another answer to my prayers that the Lord does want Justina to be baptized but that she needs to wait a little longer. I have been so grateful for these little answers to prayers that have helped us to know what is best for our investigators.

Our other investigator is Rolando. He is about 60 years old and his wife is schizophrenic. He is amazing and has come to church twice on his own. He is very pensive and takes time to meditate before and after prayers and when we asks questions. He is extremely humble and willing to change. His greatest trial right now is that he doesn't feel prepared to be baptized. He heard about our goal for every family to read the BOM in 6 months and he wants to read the Book of Mormon before being baptized. He even bought glasses just so he can see to read. We are continuing to work with him to help him feel prepared. We know he is one of the most worthy converts we have seen but we need to help him gain a testimony of baptism and his need for it now.

We were extremely disappointed on Sunday when we weren't able to find either of these investigators Sunday morning for church. We are continuing to work to improve our efforts during the week so that we can have investigators in church on Sundays.

We were rewarded, however, when Pascual (our convert from November) brought four of his grandchildren to church with him on Sunday. Pablo and Tatiana were baptized with Pascual in November and we haven't been able to get either of them to church since their baptism. Bruno is Pascual's other grandson who has a baptismal date in three weeks and is progressing wonderfully! It was so great to see them all walk into the church together as a family.

I am continuing to learn and grow to develop more faith and humility. Hermana Castellanos talked about unity in our companionship inventory and how we can both be more humble and work together to have more unity and success in our area. On Wednesday evening she was a little upset with me and I wasn't sure why. She didn't want to talk about it that night and so we waited until Thursday during comp inventory. It was a good learning experience for me to discover some of my weaknesses and I am trying to improve to be a better companion. We have been so blessed that our first issue as a companionship was in our last week and it was really quite small and was resolved quickly. We are hoping and praying every night that we will stay together this transfer but we'll see what happens. I am nervous for transfers this week but am ready and willing to accept whatever the Lord has in store for me because I know it is what I need.

Also, other random note. After meals we don't usually have dessert but when we do it is plain Jell-O or fruit cocktail or another weird gelatin like thing called flan. I miss our brownies lol. :(

I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! Thank you for the pictures and letters and prayers. You are the best. I pray for you every day! Sorry if I don't answer your questions each week. Please know I love reading your letters even if I don't respond very well.

Also, the family we found a few weeks ago isn't exactly progressing but I still have hope one day. Finally, Carl from Solvang got baptized!!!! AH!!!!

That's all folks!

Love, your favorite Lujanite, Hermana Millet

Happy New Year's

Family,

This week I am writing extra early because we have to be in Ramos Mejia at 3:00 this afternoon, which means our p-day is basically non-existent. We are going there because Hermana Carter asked Hermana Castellanos to speak at EFY on Tuesday. I'll be on exchanges with some Hermanas in Ramos.

Hermana Millet and Hermana Castellanos on New Year's Eve

This week we had a few adventures as well as some miracles.

On Friday we traveled to Open Door (a town that is technically a part of our area about 20 minutes away in car) with President Peralta (who is absolutely amazing btw) and our investigators Juana and Miguel to get papers for them so they can get married and then baptized (Juana asap and Miguel...eventually). We had to go to a hospital with crazy people and addicts and President didn't want us getting out of the car because they would bother us so we sat in the car with the doors locked while these crazy men walked by looking in the windows and asking for money. It was kind of hilarious and the scene was perfect for a scary movie with all these old buildings and beautiful trees and a bunch of crazy people walking around like zombies. The best part was that they got their papers and President is going to help pay to get the others they need so hopefully this week they can finally have a date for their wedding! Hooray!

Feliz Cumplianos Hermana Castellano

I have been enjoying reading messages from the President and reflecting on what I need to improve personally and what Hermana Castellanos and I can do to improve as a companionship. I really think we can see miracles in this area together next transfer as we apply what we are learning from his counsel and grow in unity and faith.

In doing some self reflecting I have found areas in which I need to improve, especially in humility. In some ways it is difficult to realize that I still have so much to improve upon but my greatest desire is to become what the Lord expects me to be and I know I can only accomplish this with increased humility.

Hermana Castellanos and I identified two types of humility this week: humility before the Lord (trusting in Him, accepting his will and doing the work His way) and humility with others (comparing ourselves to other missionaries, judging or criticizing others etc.) This month I really want to focus on my humility before the Lord and having the faith to work in his way and work the miracles that he wants for this area. I also realized, however, that I have slowly developed pride within our companionship. Hermana Castellanos is an amazing missionary and we are like sisters but at times I feel inadequate with a companion whom the members and investigators love so much, who can communicate and understand so easily, who has responsibility within the mission as an HLE etc. It was hard to face the fact that I had developed this pride but I am working hard to rid myself of these feelings of Satan and praying for the help of the Lord to truly love her for all of these wonderful qualities that help our companionship and which make her the Hermana that I love and realize my own purpose and value right now in the mission.

This week we witnessed one great miracle with our investigator, Bruno. He is the grandson on Pascual, who was baptized in November. As we taught Pascual, Bruno was occasionally present and over the past few weeks we have focused more on teaching Bruno. He is only 9 years old but he has such a sweet respectful demeanor and really has a desire to follow Jesus Christ and learn of his gospel. He read the introduction and the testimonies of the 8 and 3 witnesses after we gave him the Book of Mormon and is reading every night on his own. We have been trying to talk to his mother for weeks but she is unavailable for some reason or another in each of our lessons.

In my fast yesterday I prayed that we might be able to talk to her and receive her permission to continue teaching and preparing Bruno for baptism. We began our fast Saturday after lunch and that evening, only 4 or 5 hours after beginning the fast, we happened to pass by their home and she was outside. We were able to talk to her and her reaction was perfect! She didn't give us permission right away but wanted to know what the baptism was like, what we believe etc. She was exactly the way I would like a mother to be, concerned about her son and his welfare. She did give her permission and we are now working to prepare him for his baptism!

Our other investigators are also progressing along well. We are continuing to search for new families to teach as well and take care of the fechas that we have and really address each of their needs so they are truly converted. This week we still only reached 60% of our goals but I am learning each week and we are trying to adapt our methods to have more progressing investigators and investigators in sacrament meeting. I know as I develop the faith and work obediently and diligently we can have 100%.

We had some cooler weather this week after a huge rainstorm in the night. It was soooo lovely! We weren't dying of sweat all day and at night I even used a blanket. It was absolutely blissful.

On Wednesday we had exchanges with the Hermanas in Lujan 1. I went to their area and Herman Guillen was here in our area. It was a good day but the people here in Argentina party until 4-6 in the morning on New Year's Eve and sleep literally all day on the 1st so there was basically no one in the streets. Hermana Castellanos and Hermana Guillen were almost robbed here in our area! A man jumped off a motorcycle (there were 3 people on the bike because everyone here uses motos and pile tons of people on them) and asked them for all their things. They were backed up into a door and no one was in the streets. They told him they were missionaries and didn't have anything and eventually he left without taking anything or hurting them. MIRACLE! I'm now a little more cautious in our area. I've never felt scared here but I need to be more aware. Exchanges were good and it was fun to learn a new area and meet new investigators.

Hermana Leon is in our district and is great.  Things went pretty well with her during exchanges. She has an awesome testimony and really helped me see the importance of bringing the spirit to all our lessons.

New Year's Eve Dinner.

...Life other than that is pretty much normal. Hermana Castellanos and I are praying to stay together for transfers next week and we are continuing to work to achieve our goal of 2 baptisms this month.

I love you all sooo much! Thank you for your letters and love and support and prayers! You're the bestest family and friends an hermana could ask for! Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Millet

HOLA!

It was so incredibly wonderful to see and talk to you all on Christmas! I was so incredibly happy all day! It was the highlight of my Christmas! I am so glad you all look wonderful and happy and healthy. Sorry I wasn't able to ask more questions about all of you. Please send me ALL the details of your lives in emails! I LOVE hearing from you!

Christmas dinner at the Merlo's.

Also, THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOO much for the packages! They were wonderful! I opened them one day at a time to prolong the suspense.

Christmas packages all arrived there. Yay!

A shout out to Lindsay, one of my Kindergarteners. She sent me the cutest little note in the whole wide world. If you can get the email for her Mom then I can send her a reply. (If any other kindergartener Moms who follow this blog know Lindsay and her mom will you please see if you can get her email address for me?)  GRACIAS!

Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Kathy, THANK YOU! I LOVED your package! It was so fun that the presents were all wrapped. My companion and I took turns unwrapping them all. I am sooo grateful for the peanut butter and graham crackers, M&Ms, hand sanitizer etc. Everything was perfect. I can't thank you enough. I am also so grateful for the video you made for Skype! It was so great to see your faces! I love you all so much and pray for your health and happiness every day. Happy New Year! I love you!

Aunt Nancy and Sharon, you always know the best treats to send! Thank you so much! My companion and I are in love with crystal light and have been using it every day as well as the snacks. We take those with us for our dinner time snack around 5 or 6 (we don't really eat dinner here unless we eat something right before bed around 10:00) and they are perfect. The lotion is wonderful! Thank you so much! It was also great to watch your video as well! I wish I could have talked to you all over Skype but next year for sure! I continue to pray for your health and success! LOVE YOU!

And of course family... THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I am loving my pedometer. I now know our church is 2 miles away and I am continuing to track our average walking. Sometimes I accidently reset it so I don't have accurate numbers yet but stay tuned. I am SOO grateful for my puppy 2.0. This one is named Shayda haha. I loved the clothes as well and am so excited to wear the others when it is cooler. I'm going to make brownies for Hermana Castellano's birthday this Thursday.

Hermana Gardiner and Hermana Alley, companions at the MTC, with
Hermana Millet in front of the Buenos Aires Temple.

I hope I answered most of your questions when we talked over Skype. Things here are continuing to go well. Hermana Castellanos had a meeting in Ramos on Friday for her HLE calling. Originally they said we had to be there at 7:00 so we set the alarm for 3:30. Luckily at 10:29 they called and said we didn't have to be there until 8:30 so we got an hour more of sleep. HOORAY! In the meeting apparently President Carter 'bajana la cana' on the Zone Leaders for a bunch of things.(Jennifer later indicated that this was some kind of chastisement and has something to do with a cane.)  He also said that no one will be able to imagine how crazy this next transfer will be.  (According to the mission blog "The mission is super young at the moment and we are losing another 21 missionaries this coming transfer and receiving 24 new missionaries.")  Hermana Castellanos and I are praying to stay together in Lujan but I'm trying to be humble and accept wherever the Lord wants me to go.

Guess what. The other day a woman stopped us and asked if we could help this little puppy that was under a tree. It looked like it was only a week or two old. She lived near by but was waiting for the train so we took him to her house so her daughter could take care of him. He was super cute and black and white so we named him Elder because he was already dressed in his suit. Mom, you would've appreciated his cuteness lol.  And don't worry, I used lots of hand sanitizer afterward.

Our indicators were struggling a little this week as members weren't as available to work with us during the holidays and some of our investigators were out of town. I have been continuing to work on focusing more on my investigators and less on the numbers of the key indicators and in the past two weeks I have felt much more peace. We are still working to have success with the indicators and use them to plan well but I have not been stressed or worrying about them as I was in the first few weeks of this transfer. President gave us a message about the easy way and the right way and how we need to have faith in the Lord enough to focus on people and really find those that are prepared. This is my ultimate goal to increase in my faith and humility and really do everything in the Lord's way. I know that is how we will find success and see miracles in our area.

One of these miracles occurred for us this week on Saturday. We had contacted a family in the street a few days earlier and both Hermana Castellanos and I had a desire to visit them. On Saturday we had our first lesson with them and it was absolutely beautiful. We were able to have the whole family sit down and listen to us and by the end of the lesson they all agreed to be baptized (the mom, dad, and two of their three children who are old enough to be baptized). As the mom, Maria, said the closing prayer she began to cry as she thanked Heavenly Father that we had come. Her 13 year old daughter also started to cry as the spirit was so strong. It was AMAZING! I have been praying for a family that we can teach and this family is so prepared. I am so excited to work with them and help them progress. I know they will have challenges and struggles but as we continue to have trust in the Lord he will help us know how to help this family.

Another wonderful blessing this week was our ward activity last night. Our ward planned a living nativity and a bunch of the primary kids and adults all participated. It was absolutely beautiful. Hermana Castellanos and I sang the hymns that accompanied the story. All of the kids were dressed up soo cute (I'm sending pictures of a few). Our ward really is amazing! I love all of the members soo much.

The cutest little nativity cow ever!

Cast for the live nativity.

The best part was we had three different investigators come, two of which we didn't even invite! One family that came has listened to the missionaries for years and we have been visiting them and really working to get them to come to church. It was so great to see them interact with all the members. Hermana Castellanos calls them "dry members" because they are basically members but they just haven't been baptized.

We are continuing to work hard and try to find more families that are ready for baptism. Hermana Castellanos and I are excited to celebrate the New Year and her birthday together this week and have tons of success!

I love you all so much! Thank you for all your love and support!

Love,

Hermana Millet

Family,

I still can't believe Christmas is almost here. It has been blazing hot these past few days and SO humid. Christmas is going to be pretty weird this year but I am so excited to talk to you all! I will not be emailing on Monday but I will have 40 minutes to talk to you Christmas day.

This week has been full of challenges and miracles. Hermana Castellanos and I are struggling a little to have progressing families and investigators in sacrament meeting and reach all of our goals. We are working with all of our efforts, however, to be worthy of the help of Heavenly Father. I am constantly trying to have more faith, live more obediently and work more diligently to see miracles in our area. I know that the success that we have had is directly from Him. Every new investigator and lesson is a blessing.

This week Hermana Castellanos shared a scripture with me from Alma during companionship study that I really needed. Alma 26:28-31 talks about how they are traveling all over, preaching in houses, in the streets to teach of Christ. They were rejected and cast out at times but Alma states that it is all worth it if they can save some soul. He says that the first of their labor is not small.

We too are preaching the gospel of Christ in homes, in the streets, anywhere we can find people and at times we are rejected and have afflictions (don't worry, nothing like Alma and his brethren) but it is all worth it if we can save some soul. This month we were able to baptized Diego. He is a choice spirit of Heavenly Father and I am so grateful we had the opportunity to help him make his first covenant with his Heavenly Father. At times I feel that the fruit of our labor is small right now. We have a goal of 4 baptisms this month that I felt was inspired and right now our possibilities are dwindling, but I know with faith God's will can be done. Even if Diego is the only person we baptize the fruit of our labor is not small. He is a soul that can be saved, and can help build the kingdom of God.

In my efforts to find a chosen family of our Heavenly Father I am really trying to improve my faith and worthiness and become the missionary Heavenly Father wants me to be. Today during personal study I read a scripture in 2 Nephi 33:3 which I love. Nephi is praying and crying for his people (investigators) and he says that he knows the Lord will hear his cries of faith.

I too have been praying for my investigators and worrying throughout the night like Nephi. I realized today, however, that I need to be even more focused on my investigators. I am sometimes more worried about the indicators and what my district leader will say when he hears my numbers than I am about the people. I really want to focus on loving my investigators more, loving them enough that my indicators are achieved because I am focusing on them, not on the numbers.

On Friday we had zone conference in Ramos Mejia. When we have to be there early in the morning we sleep in the apartment of the Hermanas in Lujan 1 because we have to wake up at 4:00 to be at the collectivo by 5:00 or 5:30. We sleep on the floor, which is pretty hard but this time I slept better than the last time. We really are blessed to have the energy though as missionaries. Many times we have to wake up early to be in Ramos and we never get a chance to catch up on sleep as missionaries but we continually have strength and energy.

During zone conference I was reminded again to focus on my investigators. One of my teachers in the MTC was always telling us to 1. Love the investigator and 2. Rely on the Lord. In California these things seemed easy, but I realized here I have maybe forgotten a little bit to really focus on loving my investigators and relying on the Lord. Yes the numbers are important, and yes the culture of the people here is different but I can still love them with all my heart and rely on the Lord to do his work.

I also loved the focus on families during zone conference. More than anything I want to bring the blessing of the gospel to a family. The idea of teaching eternal families in the first lesson has always made sense to me and I had always assumed I would do so as a missionary but for some reason I haven't been teaching this principal initially. This week as we have begun putting this into practice I have already begun to see results as contacts turn into lessons and potential baptismal dates.

We received a great miracle this week when we found a woman named Sylvana. She was waiting for two of her children to get out of school with her baby and we taught her the gospel. She was so excited about repentance and baptism and she couldn't stop smiling. We almost couldn't find her house when we searched for it a few days later but we were able to find her again and teach her about eternal families. She is living with her boyfriend but wants to get married. She and her three children came to church on Sunday (unfortunately her boyfriend was working) and we have plans to teach her and her boyfriend again tomorrow. I am so excited to work with this family and hopefully see them progress.

We also found another amazingly prepared woman named Justina Sunday afternoon. She has talked to missionaries in the past and told us she has read almost all of the Book of Mormon. She accepted a baptismal date and told us she will come to church on Sunday. After she said the closing prayer she began to cry and told us she has been feeling alone but that she felt love in our lesson. It was such a miracle!

While finding miracle new investigators we also had some challenges with our progressing investigators this week.

On Monday night we visited Cinthia for the first time since her scheduled baptism on the 24th of November. I introduced her to Hermana Castellanos and we rebuilt some trust with her that evening. On Wednesday we had an amazing experience with her. We talked about the plan of salvation, her mom in the spirit world, and her agency to choose here. She told us a part of her wants to get baptized and another part doesn't. She decided to pray right then and there. The first time she prayed she wasn't sure how she felt but as we talked about listening to the spirit she decided to pray again. After the prayer she waited for a few seconds and then told us she felt peace, that she knew the church was true and that she needed to be baptized. As we walked away I couldn't believe what happened!

Unfortunately in the following days her doubt began to creep back again and she let Satan influence her. In our lesson on Saturday she was as closed off as ever and told us she didn't want to be baptized.

It is so sad to see someone who has received an answer reject the truth. She doesn't want to accept that the church is true. Hopefully someday she will be able to accept what she knows is true but once again we can't do anything for her at this moment. I am grateful for the experience we did have with her, however, and the spirit that we all felt bear witness that this is the true church.

The heat has been a killer and this week. We had a fast for our investigators working toward baptism in the zone. Hermana Castellanos and I tried to drink lots of water in the morning before the fast (here we fast from lunch to lunch) but by the evening we weren't feeling super great. We decided to cheat just a little and drink some water before bed and when we woke up so we would have energy for the next day because with the heat and the humidity we weren't sure if it was healthy to go without water for so long. Hopefully Heavenly Father understands and we can still see the blessings of the fast.

As far as daily life you have been asking about the food is pretty good. I LOVE empanadas and the pizza is pretty good as well. Milanesa is another food that is pretty good (it's a really thin slice of chicken or steak that has a special breading). Hermana Castellanos and I made tacos one day last week with this yummy sauce that she has. Usually in the apartment I just eat cereal and fruit and some crackers that are cheap kind of like saltines. We also have Oreo night occasionally. :) This week we splurged and bought a container of ice cream which I have been enjoying.

I am sleeping great, mostly because we're always so exhausted. This week I have slept without any sheet for the first time in my life with the fan full blast on us because it's been so hot (and will only get hotter HOORAY!).

I'm not sure what else you've all had questions about. Maybe we can talk about them on Christmas.

I LOVE YOU ALL SOOO MUCH! Thank you for your love and support continually! I CAN`T WAIT TO TALK TO YOU WEDNESDAY!

Love,

Hermana Millet

Happiness!

Family! I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOO MUCH!

This week has been so full of miracles.

First of all, my new companion is Hermana Castellanos. She is from Honduras and is 20 years old. She has been in the mission for 3 months. She is absolutely wonderful. We have had such a wonderful week together full of miracles. The hermanas in our zone were so excited when we saw the changes for this transfer. Hermana Castellanos was companions with Hermana Patrone in Mercedes (in our zone) and Hermana Bangeter (my American friend) was in Lujan 1. We kind of just did a switcharoo and Hermana Bangeter is now with Hermana Patrone in Mercedes and Hermana Castellanos and I are together. I didn't know Hermana Castellanos very well but the first thing Hermana Bangeter told me was that she is "so loving". She was right! I have felt nothing but love from Hermana Castellanos from the first day. She immediately told me that she wants to be friends and wants us to feel open to talk about anything. I am so grateful for her desire to have a great relationship as companions, friends, and hermanas. We have already begun building unity through kindness, openness, Oreo night, goals, success etc. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with her this transfer. I have felt this week, with her help, that I am becoming the missionary that I want to be. The part of me that felt successful back in the states was missing last transfer and at times I felt like I was going through the motions of missionary work but wasn't myself. Hermana Castellanos is helping me to rediscover the balance between accomplishing our indicators and caring for our investigators and doing what the Savior would do in every moment. It has been so great to have her help to work together in unity in our teaching, in planning, and in the responsibility of accomplishing everything. I have felt that we are a team in all aspects which is the way I want to be with all of my companions. I am so grateful for her love and friendship and support and I know we will continue to see miracles this transfer together.

Also, random side note. She and I spent a little time Wednesday cleaning the pench. Hallelujah! There was a bunch of stuff that I didn't know who it belonged to and so we threw away so much stuff.  The pench is sooo much better now! Yay for having a clean companion!

My only concern with our companionship is obedience. I want to be completely obedient and this week I have seen little things, with us both being so new to the mission, that we could be disobedient without meaning to. I want to work really hard to make sure we follow every rule with exactness so that we can receive the help from Heavenly Father that we are going to need this week.

Our major miracle this week was with Diego. He had a baptismal date for the 24th of November but the morning of the baptism he told us he no longer wanted to be baptized (most likely because of the influence of his brothers and sisters).

We gave him a little space in the following week but on Tuesday of this week we stopped by and talked to him about testimony. I bore my testimony to him that even when we feel like we are being attacked by Satan and question some of our beliefs we can still rely on the knowledge we do have. I read a scripture in D&C about how we can rely on the knowledge we have already received and that we don't have to doubt. We told him that we know he has a testimony of the church and that all he needs to do is pray and ask Heavenly Father if baptism is right for him and that he can be baptized whenever he is ready.

That night Hermana Suarez called him to tell him she was leaving and he said he wanted to be baptized. He and his Dad had plans to leave for Paraguay on Saturday so we planned the baptism for Saturday before they left. It was such a miracle that he was ready and that we were able to have the spirit with us to know what to say to help him. We talked with him every day this week to help him prepare and he stayed strong.

His baptismal service was wonderful. Neither Hermana Castellanos nor I had really planned a baptism here in the Buenos Aries West mission but we worked hard to get everything ready. We have an amazing Branch President who was so wonderful to take care of everything as well as the Elders in our branch. We couldn't have done it without them. It was a little different than a baptismal service in the states but so beautiful. Sometimes the simplicity of things here in Argentina makes them even more special.

His father, Charlie, was able to baptize Diego and they ended up staying in Lujan for him to be confirmed in Sacrament meeting on Sunday by President Peralta. I am so excited for Diego and the opportunity he has to enjoy the blessings of the gospel. He is so special and I know he will find so much happiness!

Our other great miracle this week was a new family we found. I have been praying to find a family to teach and this week we were blessed to find an amazing family! We had contacted the mom on Sunday in her front yard and on Tuesday we went back to teach her. She wasn't home but her three children were. We taught them outside in the yard and it was amazing! Her children are beautiful. The oldest daughter, Camila, is 15 years old, but so mature. The two youngest are twins, Alma and Marcos, and will turn 8 years old on December 26th. We talked to them about faith and a little about the restoration and our purpose as missionaries to help people repent and prepare for baptism. As Camila said the closing prayer she asked for forgiveness for her sins and began to cry. She hugged us so tight as we left and thanked us so much for coming. It was absolutely wonderful.

We returned a few days later and again taught the children the restoration. As we walked to the door Alma and Marcos ran up to us to give us hugs. They had read the pamphlets we had left them and promised to begin reading the Book of Mormon and come to church. They are so sweet. Unfortunately, we still haven`t been able to contact Pamela, the mom, but we plan on working hard this week to find her and teach them all as a family.

Sunday was a little discouraging for us this week because we had many investigators who had promised to come to sacrament meeting and we were confident they would be there. As we called and tried to pick some of them up in the morning, however, no one answered. We ended up with no one in sacrament meeting, which was discouraging. I had felt more confident in our investigators this week than any other. This week I really want to focus on and learn how to make sure our investigators can come to church. Because they weren't there this week, meeting our goal of 4 baptisms this month is going to be really difficult. I have faith that Heavenly Father will help us to accomplish our goals, however, as we are obedient and diligent.

I am so excited for this transfer, for our wonderful investigators, for my developing relationship with Hermana Castellanos, for the progress I am already seeing with Spanish and will continue to develop as Hermana Castellanos and I work to teach one another the language (we're doing one day Spanish and one day English), and for the opportunity to continue to develop as a missionary.

A random note: you should like or join the page Distrito Lujan Argentina. It is the page for my stake (district) here.

That's about all for the week I think. It's been super great and I am grateful to finally be feeling more like myself with a wonderful companion. Thank you for all your prayers and love and support. I can't wait to talk to you all on Christmas!

Love,

Jen