Welcome to Englewood, Sister Gaytan! -- April 10, 2017



 Walmart



Some of my favorite people EVER. Sister Smith and Hettinger are companions in
Morristown, and Sister Hettinger was Sister Gaytan's trainer! So cute.
 4/8/17

This week has been a really good one :) but oh man. So

tiring. Those are the best kinds of weeks :) here's some good

highlights:

Tuesday I picked up sister Gaytan and dropped off Sister Allen.

Transfers are the BEST. I love seeing all my buddies and singing our

mission song :) so fun! And sister Gaytan is awesome! She's from

Mexicali, the border with California. But her family has lived in Cali

for the last 4 years. Also her birthday is on Wednesday :) she got

baptized 3 years ago with her mom and older brother, and is just

waiting on her dad and younger brother. She's been in the mission 11

months. And she thinks I'm funny. Haha!! Score!! Finally! She

seriously never stops laughing! We had a super great week together and

I know it's going to be an awesome transfer :)

Thursday she had the new leader's meeting in Morristown, so I went

over to S Smith's apartment with Sister Moss (who's companion is a

newly-called STL down in Tom's River-- I ❤️ that place). We made some

pancakes and I tried to make one in a NJ shaped cookie cutter and it

failed. Haha!  Then we saw the twins, Victor and Daniela.

 They're awesome! They want to get baptized but they have

sports on Sundays :( so we aren't sure what to do.. Then we saw some

members that night that gave us a couple referrals and said they'd

invite some other friends to church for Easter! Woo!

Friday we had some weekly planning because we didn't get it done

Thursday, but we didn't finish Friday either. Haha you know how it

goes. But we were out on the street that evening and we were talking

to this guy and when we finished S Gaytan was like "don't walk that

way. Come this way." And so I followed her, and she was like "there's

some guy who was staring at us over there and then when we started

walking he started walking.." so we casually walked into the Arabic

meat store across the street. Crisis averted :) also delicious cookies

bought. Yum. Then on our way home we met some funny Jamaican guy that

didn't stop talking! Hahaha Good times in the street. That's where all

the good stories come from.

Saturday we had Mission Leader Council (MLC). And it went really well!

Really tranquilo! I got to sing the post-lunch musical number, I'll

send the video to mom :) then this Elder that was giving a training

right after got up and said "thank you Sister Millington, your voice

is like a blanket..." haha it was pretty awkward and funny. Good guy,

though. Ha! We then got some bailadas with Jared and talked about Alma

5. We preached repentance hard core. Good stuff. Then we talked to

Jorge over FB video call and he's doing well :) he said when he knows

it's true he'll be baptized and he wants to come to church, he just

has to figure out how to get a Sunday off.

Sunday we went to our ward council and that went well, and then we

drove to Elizabeth for a baptism of a Sister Gaytan's investigator!

They found him through FB. Sweet, right? And sister Pace was there

too, because she taught him, so that was fun to see her. I was able to

help and play piano and that was cool. I love to serve :) we ate some

tamales on the way back and I decided I don't like driving in New

Jersey. I'd already decided that, but I decided again. This place is

loco. But we actually saw some really stellar people that afternoon-

we took Jared cookies for his birthday, we saw Hermana Estevez (who

gave us saltines with butter. So Dominican.), then the Mendoza family

that is crazy and super Mexican and I love, and then Patricia and

Michael! Patricia's phone has been super dumb lately and she's been

working a lot because she's going to be DR for spring break at the end

of the week, so we hadn't been able to see her for a long time. It was

really rough, actually. But I'm so happy they were home and we got to

talk to them :)

So listen. I started this Book of Mormon challenge, but I had a lot of

meetings this week and didn't have a lot of personal study..  but I'm

trying! It's also Spanish so it has 100 more pages! But I'm determined

to do it:) the Book of Mormon is the BEST.

Anywayzzzz life is good out here :) we made yummy cookies this week,

but we didn't eat dinner a lot because we were so busy. So I ended up

having 9:30 cereal a couple times. Haha mission life. But I really am

super happy and everything is good :) I know I'm doing the best i can

and the Lord is making up for the rest. I'm getting a lot better at

talking to everyone and Sister Gaytan is helping me a lot! She's a

great contacter. I have a lot of faith we'll see miracles this week :)

Transfers! Dun dun duuuun...April 3, 2017

 

glamour shots by the fire escape
4/3/17

Hopefully you had an awesome week and an even awesomer

weekend watching General Conference! I LOVED it. I had so many

questions answered. It was super great as well to hear from President

Monson about the Book of Mormon! (Ps I'm going to finish it tomorrow

in Spanish woot woot) I watched the two morning sessions in Spanish

but the afternoons in English. It was a little rough Saturday

afternoon, we watched at a member's home and their internet was bad.

But we absorbed most of what they were saying!

So like my email title says, tomorrow is transfers!! Man. Wanna know a

crazy thing? I only have three left. So that hurts. But it's okay :)

I've decided that it stinks to go home because I love this place and

these people, but that there are a lot of ways I need to progress back

there, too. But for now I'm here and happy and learning and growing

and having the best time :) so this is all the transfer doctrine: IM

STAYING!! Yay :) and Sister Allen is going to Jersey City! And I'll be

her STL :) and Sister Holguin is going to Paterson and I'll be her

STL, too! Fun, right? And I'm getting a new companion, Sister Gaytán!

She's from Mexico, but lived a while in California. Remember Sister

Hettinger from the MTC? She's her trainer! So Sister Gaytan is just a

couple transfers younger than me. But she's an awesome missionary! And

Mexican, and I'm pretty much Mexican, so ya know. It'll be awesome,

though, I'm excited :) sad to lose sister Allen, she's super awesome.

She's helped me and these people a lot this transfer. I'll definitely

miss her. But I'll still get to see her around, it'll be good!

Here's some highlights from the week:

We had two exchanges! Monday night I went out with Sister

Higginbotham, that was cool! We met some interesting people on the

streets of Englewood while advertising our English Class. This one

guy, Jorge, kept asking us questions about when the Bible was edited

and if God and the Devil are two separate things or the same person..

anyway, come to find out he'd taken some seminary in his country for

nine years and just wanted to see if we had our facts straight. Haha.

Punk. But it was good anyway, we met some other nice people and got

some numbers!

Tuesday night I was with Sister Murphy. She's super cute! She's a

great conversationalist. It was a really nice and easy exchange- we

were full of appointments and she teaches well and was easy to talk to

as we drove around. We came home and the other sisters had gone to see

someone that gave them chicken feet and hearts for dinner.. luckily

they had to leave for an appointment and they took them to-go, but

they're still in the fridge. Ew. But sweet of her to give us food!

She's a nice little lady :)

Thursday we had TAC- transfer apartment cleaning. It was great! We

scrubbed everything. For hours. It was insane. But the apartment feels

better now :) then we tried to get some planning done at the chapel,

but ended up going to see an investigator that the elders are teaching

that decided last-minute she didn't want to get baptized on Sunday :(

so we went over to see what was up and to meet her parents that are

Dominican and don't speak any English. We talked a lot with her about

the Holy Ghost and how bad she needs it, and hopefully it helped a

little. Her mom gave us some cake and orange juice so we're buddies

now too ❤️ we also got tacos for dinner and they were SO GOOD. Real

tacos guys? They're so good.

Friday we ended up going way North in our area to pick something up

from a member and may or may not have accidentally crossed the border

into New York. AGAIN. But it's okay, this time it was still in our

mission and our zone :) we just had to get back on the turnpike and

make it back into Jersey. Haha oops. I know how to drive. We also made

banana bread muffins that morning during planning to take to some

members when we took their dishes back and that was good :) we saw

cute little Hermano Pichardo and he gave us some yummy yogurt and we

got drenched in the rain. All good stuff. I learned what shoes NOT to

wear in the rain. Haha

Saturday was the bomb! Conference is the best. I seriously almost

cried like three times. I loved it a lot :) it's amazing how inspired

those people are to speak to our hearts through the spirit and tell us

exactly what we need to hear. And how we can find comfort and council

simply by the spirit that is there, not necessarily because of what

they say.

We also had a face-time lesson with this guy, Jorge Argudo from

Ecuador, that was awesome! He was the one we had the crazy hour-long

phone call lesson with the other week. He still has a ton of questions

and we ended up teaching about the Plan of Salvation and some of

repentance and some of the commandments. Man! But he told us he'd been

looking for the true church his whole life but didn't really know how

to find it and hadn't really taken the time to. But he said he would

pray and ask and we promised he'd find his answer :)

#moderndayecuadorianjosephsmith and then he said a beautiful closing

prayer, that was good too :) he's a funny man. We like him a lot.

Sunday was great! Conference. Between sessions we ran to see

Gloria Coba and her family and Brenda and Jorge to put conference on

their phones. But unfortunately they didn't have enough gigs to watch

it :( but we sent her a talk after and she loved it! After the second

session we went to see the Calderon's and have some dinner with them.

It was awesome, I love that family. Ana is such a sweet mother to her

kids and so kind to her husband :) and she wants to share the gospel!

Woo! They're sweet.

That night we had our call and found out what's going down! It's super

crazy.. I'll have spent a fourth of my mission here in the EngleHood!

But I know there's more the Lord needs me to do here :) I'm excited to

stay and help and serve and love these people!

 Hope you had a great week and a great

conference and a great week this next week too! :)

Les amoooo! :)

Hermana Millington

New Jersey Morristown Mission

March 27, 2017

 

 

 

This week was a good one, folks! On Tuesday night we had a branch FHE

and we watched meet the Mormons. Unfortunately our investigators

couldn't be there, but we had a good time watching it with the little

branch. It's funny when they show the part about the guy that went on

a mission and I get all excited and I want to go on a mission too! And

then I realize that I am on a mission. Haha silly me.

Wednesday was a super interesting day. We had a lesson with this

inactive lady and when we got there she was feeling pretty

sick. But she'd made us food, so she dished it up and said she was

going to go to sleep. We asked if we could share a quick video with

her and she said no... what? That had never happened to me! People

always say yes! So that was kind of bizarre.. then she went into her

bedroom and talked on the phone with her daughter for like twenty

minutes. So I'm not sure what that's about, but ya know. We had a good

time sitting there eating chicken in awkward silence anyway.

Then we went to a member's house for an FHE and she had a

little panic attack while we were there. But it was amazing to see how

the spirit was brought back to their house from simply listening and

testifying and trying to love her the way the Savior does. She's so

awesome.

Thursday we actually finished weekly planning!! That was a miracle!!

And our heads hurt so bad by the end.. but we did it! Woo! Then we got

juked a couple times, but it was all good! That night we also saw Olga who lives

close to us and we made an appointment to go back and teach her

friend, Ester, tomorrow! Then she fed us some yummy Guatemalan

tortillas and cheese. Love her so much!

Friday we saw some twin kids of an inactive member what were being taught by the sisters a long

time ago. We taught the Restoration, but they asked a TON of random

questions about the fall and the second coming and why Satan is in

outer darkness and all this stuff. Haha it was crazy! I don't know

what those sisters were teaching them before, but they remember a ton

and had a ton of questions! They're super cute kids, it'll just be

hard to get them to church because of their sports on Sundays. But we

love them! Then we went and saw Nora and Johnny who brought us Chinese

food! Johnny is the bomb. He said he wouldn't be able to come to

church, but we had a good lesson and he's good. Then we saw Brenda and

Jorge with Hermana Torres. It went well, Hermana Torres helped them a lot and

we made some solid plans for them to get to church Sunday.

Saturday was a special day, the day we got ready for Sunday. Hehe it

was so crazy busy, totally non-stop! I was really tired and my back

hurt pretty bad by the end of the day. It was a good one for sure! We

did service in the morning at some church that does a food pantry and

we got a TON of bananas. We'll be making some banana muffins here soon

:) then we went to this Salvadoran restaurant with Jared and I got a

GIANT pupusa. It was so funny. I'll send pictures :) but it was really

good. We got down to his core needs and wants in life. And we're gonna

help him get them and have the spirit with him! He's super great. Then

we saw Hermana Estevez from the branch and talked to her about member

work! Woo! She's awesome, too! Then we met this cute little old man,

Marino, that said he would never change his religion. But he gave us

juice and cookies and was so funny and cute. And he told us we should

try to teach his neighbors! So we'll try that! Yay referrals! We came

home and had a video chat lesson with this guy named Jorge that was

great! He had a ton of questions about how we know God chose the

prophet and what happens when the prophet dies and how the quorum of

the 12 get chosen and all that stuff. It was sweet! And he really

wanted to know what Christ said to the Nephites so we invited him to

read it! And he also wants us to talk to his son in Ecuador and try to

teach him, too! YEAH REFERRALS! Then that night we went to the women's

general conference and loved it! Our little RS had a cute little

party. It was lovely :) empanadas and everything. Good stuff.

Sunday was cool! We actually went to church up in Morristown because

Sister Allen went back, 4 of her old investigators got baptized! So

cool! So we went to all the meetings with them there and it was fun to

be with Sister Smith and Holguin for a little bit. And I sat next to

the cute Stake Relief Society President in Relief society and guess

what! Her daughter is engaged to Thomas Ashworth!! Haha what?! I guess

it's not officially official yet.. but so crazy! So we took some

pictures to send to him, it was cute :) The baptisms went well and

there was a ton of good food after. Like the Hispanics do :) it was

cool, though, President Taggart was there! Yeah PT! Then we came back

and saw a couple people and made a ton of calls. We found out Brenda

and Jorge weren't able to make it to church, but Johnny did! So we

called and talked to him and he said he loved it and wants to keep

going! He said he prayed about the Book of Mormon and knows it's true

and that Joseph Smith was a prophet! Wow! And we invited him to be

baptized and he said yes! Except not this week because he has a work

trip out of town hahah! But we'll get him a date and get him all

prepared soon :) it was really cool!

All in all, it was a crazy week. All full of good things! We have two

exchanges this week, then general Conference, and transfer calls this

Sunday night. I can't believe it's already almost done, all 6 weeks!

Time has never flown so fast in my life. It literally feels like I've

been with sister Allen for like 2 weeks. But we'll see what the Lord

has in store for our next six weeks! I'm super super excited for

conference! It's going to be the BEST.

Hermana Millington

ANOTHER SNOW DAY!!! - March 20, 2017

 

Thanks, Nana, for the headbands!!!

 

This week was crazy. It flew by REALLY fast. There were a lot of things that happened, lots of ups and downs.

On Monday night we had a sweet FHE at the Martinez home with Brenda and Jorge and their kids and Nora and her friend (our investigator)Johnny. It went super well! We sang and talked and testified and ateand it was really good :) I love the Martinez family!

Tuesday we woke up and it was SNOWING!! People had been talking all weekend about the storm warnings, so we weren't surprised. But the wind was blowing super hard, it was way ugly out there. President Taggart told us we couldn't drive anywhere, so we worked on some planning and phone calls and stuff in the house for most of the day! We made it to Julia Torres house later! Love that family. They're super good to us. And we wore the headbands Nana made us :) I'll send pictures!

Wednesday we had district meeting, and then we saw a ton of members!

Thursday we had weekly Planning and SLAYED. We stayed super focused and called all he people and set all the plans and it was great! We worked really hard. We saw a couple people that night, and ended at Patricia's house with Hermana Gonzalez. She made us asopao (this traditional Dominican food) and it was yummy! A good chicken and vegetable soup. I love that family a lot, too.

Friday we had exchanges, and I went with  sister Flinders! We had a great time! We met some great English people, including this guy from Guyana. We knocked their door and met his sisters mother-in-Law who told us at the door she was struggling a lot because her son has cancer. We told her we wanted to share something with her and she let us in! It went super well, she's looking for a church to fill the hole in her life. And Jango (the guy from Guyana) took us through some of the history of he Caribbean islands. Haha! Good guy.

Then when she was backing me out from someone else's house, she started a conversation with this girl that had a cute coat! When we told her about Joseph Smith really briefly, she started crying. She said she had been looking for God a lot lately and felt like she was finally receiving her answer. It was so cool!

Saturday was a hard day. I've had some hard hours in my mission, but this whole day was rough. It was so dark and gloomy outside and things just weren't going like we wanted them to! It was hard! But I learned that having someone to listen is so important :) and that prayer fixes a lot! It doesn't take all our problems away, but it helps us face them a little bit stronger.

Sunday was good, our branch council went super well! I'm excited about it. We saw a few people last night, including Yahaira and her sons and then Patricia. She's super worried about Michael, we're going to try to see him and be in touch with him more! But he might be moving back to the DR soon.. so that's sad :(
 

But good news!! I finished Jesus the Christ this week! Woo! It was so good. I love that book. I'm stoked to read it again:)

Sister Allen is feeling like well be splitting up after is transfer, so that's a bummer :( but we'll see what happens! I'm loving the area and the people and life is good :) I'm learning and growing little by little. It's been a big year and I can't believe all the miracles and love I've seen. The Lord is so good :)

Hermana Millington

 

New Jersey Morristown Mission

Non-stop Pizza. It must be New Jersey. - March 13, 2017

This week in the space of four days I ate pizza FIVE TIMES. What in the world?! I love pizza, but... haha it was good though :)

This was a good week!! We had interviews with President this Tuesday and that went well! I love President Taggart. What a great man :) then we had exchanges with Sisters Malafu (from Hawaii) and Morenvile (from Haiti). It was fun! They're super different sisters but they're way awesome and we love them a lot :) sister Malafu and I found this less active who fed us this fish that was pretty much just a fish cut in half, we got the tail end luckily. Haha it was pretty boney, but not too bad!

Wednesday we had to drop off the sister up in New City, NY (the NY area that's in our mission). On our way to district leader council with the zone we accidentally went over the George Washington Bridge AGAIN. I'm so tired of that bridge. Hahaha! Then we went to a park to pray and figure out what the Lord wants us to do this transfer. We were feeling overwhelmed but we pulled ourselves together and then found a new investigator! Boom!

 

Thursday we had zone conference and that was great! We learned some good skills and had fun :) some good trainings by the zone leaders and assistants. Friday we went on exchange with sister Mora (from Mexico/Kentucky) and sister Gonzalez (from DR/Louisiana). They're awesome! It was fun to be with S Mora, she knew Raquel Demordaunt when we were back at BYU! I probably saw her at the cannon all the time! Small world, huh? She's a really great missionary, she goes home in May. Crazy how time flies! We taught and planned and contacted and talked and life was good! We did some service that morning and Saturday morning at this old church helping give food to people that

need it. My arms hurt pretty bad Saturday morning from lugging some big boxes everywhere. I also did like 100 leg lifts on Wednesday and it made walking for the rest of the week really rough.. yeah morningworkouts!!

We also spoke in church Sunday and that went well! My time was cut pretty short, but I read in 1 Corinthians 12 where it talks about being members of a United body and talked about how enduring to the end includes looking out for our neighbor. We also got a new RS prez that I'm super excited about! We have an FHE at their house tonight with Brenda and Jorge and their kids.

The most eventful thing this week I think was that we were with Brenda and Jorge like every day. We're doing what we can to be a strong support for them and really get the members involved!! Their lives are just so crazy and it hurts my heart a lot.

 

Anyway, I love you guys :) I know this gospel is true. It's got to be. And the Book of Mormon is the word of God. If I didn't know it, I wouldn't be out here for a year and a half trying to give all my heart

and soul to it every day. I wouldn't go through the heart-ache that comes with seeing consequences of other people's misuse of agency. It's hard. But I will do it because I know there's a light at the end of the tunnel. The lords love in infinite and powerful. There is ALWAYS hope in Him.

 

Have a miracle-filled week!

Hermana Millington

New Jersey Morristown Mission

WELL, I GUESS THAT WAS FEBRUARY - MARCH 6, 2017

 

Sisters Conference

Man, how crazy is that? I'm still waiting for Thanksgiving over here..

haha crazy how time flies.

This week was a good one! Tuesday we stayed in all day as well so we

didn't get everyone and their dog sick, even though sister Allen was

feeling better. We Skyped into district meeting, though, and that was

funny! Yay technology! But it totally worked and it was sweet!

Wednesday we had our all-sisters conference! That was a blast :) they

had it all cute and Easter-y with pretty flowers and yummy desserts

and all kinds of stuff. It was very sister-y. Haha. But we had some

great trainings about confidence and team work, and then all the STL

companionships did a training on something-- a couple approaches,

teaching repentance, and the baptismal invite. It was fun! And we did

a TON of role-plays, so that was good too. I don't hate role-plays

quite as much as I used to. Not quite ;) that night we got home pretty

late, so we just went to see Patricia and Michael and teach them more

about temples. They're excited to go!

Thursday we did a TON of weekly planning. Yay planning! We also tried

to go find a couple people, but a referral we went to go see had just

had an eye operation so she couldn't really sit and talk with us haha

ah well. But we got a return appointment! Woo!

Friday we had Mission Leadership Council up in Morristown and that

went well! We learned good things. It's funny to see Elder Follett, my

MTC district leader, as an AP up there. He's a funny kid. Then we went

to dinner with the cute Woodlands to this sweet buffet place with

shrimp and crab and sushi and steak and chocolate mousse and all that

good stuff. It was amazing, actually! Then we had a lesson with Brenda

and Jorge that was super crazy. Long story short, it hurt my heart a lot. It hurts how hard

and real the world is. Their problems are so giant and there's nothing

little Sister Millington and Allen can really do for them. But there's

everything the Lord can do for them! So there is hope :) but it's just

crazy.

Saturday was a crazy day! We saw a bunch of awesome people, including

Brenda and Jorge again. It went better this time! But when we left all

3 of the kids were crying because we wouldn't let them have our name

tags and sister allen's iPad :( we also met this little family,

Bolivar and his sons, Matthew and Joshua. They're really Catholic, but

cool! But unfortunately we can only see them Saturday's when his wife

is home. But we're hopeful!

Yesterday was a lovely Sabbath!  After church we had a few lessons that

all went well, except that we got fed pizza unexpectedly twice, and

then some good Dominican chicken and shrimp. So much food. I hadn't

had so many dinner appointments in a row like that in a long time. So

I just came home at 9:30 and laid on the ground and wanted to die for

a few minutes. But that's okay!! Life is good :)

Anyways that was my week in short! I'm learning a lot that missionary work is pretty simple, but

it all has to do with our personal conversion and how hard we're

really willing to work. Our trust and faith and motivation comes from

our understanding of the Atonement and the changes we've seen in our

own life that make us want to help and serve those around us :)

I love you chickens! Have a great week, find joy in living ❤

Hermana Millington

New Jersey Morristown Mission

TRANSFERS - February 20, 2017

Hey family!! This week was a good one! Definitely had its highs and

lows, but all around really good :) happy late valentine's day! I was

remembering the little package Chloe sent me to the MTC with that had

notes from all of you. I remember Seth sent one that talked about how

now I didn't have a Valentine because I was giving my heart to God, so

it was just a normal day. This year was similar. Haha! But it was

great :)

So the saddest news on the planet: Sister Holguin is leaving Englewood

:( she's headed to Morristown as an STL to be with Sister Smith. I'm

excited for them, it'll be great! And my new companion is Sister

Allen, who I already love a ton! She's a good one. We were asked to be

STLs at the same time. She's super tall and sings really well and

she's an awesome missionary. It's going to rock :) it'll be good to

have a little change here in the area, I was getting a little

comfortable. And good news: our car coordinator texted us today and

said we'll be getting a RAV4 at our leadership conference this

weekend! Woo!!! A brand new car! So that's going to rock too :)

blessings!! But I really am super super sad sister Holguin is going.

We found out on Thursday because sister smith saw the transfer board

in presidents office and told us. So we've had time to mentally

prepare ourselves and to say goodbye to the members. She'll definitely

be missed here, the branch LOVES her. We have big shoes to fill for

sure. And I'll miss her a lot. We've become so so close through the

last three months. She's taught me so much about missionary work and

Mexico and love and patience and everything!! She's an amazing person.

I'll miss her.

Man, I'm trying to think about prioritizing what happened this week.

It was a good one. There were a couple moments when I pulled myself

together and began to think about what our purpose out here really is.

I got a little frustrated this week reading the Book of Mormon because

the people are SO DUMB. Again and again they are blessed, they get

proud, and they fall. Then they get all humble and the get blessed

again, then they get proud and fall. AGAIN. I actually got really

frustrated! But then i realized that I bet our Heavenly Father gets a

little frustrated with us sometimes too. Maybe not frustrated, but

kind of sad. We're really forgetful. We forget who we are, why we're

here, what we're doing, etc. all the time. And when we forget, we

fall! And then we get humble again, and we're blessed. And then we get

all proud and we forget. We're SO DUMB. Haha :) anyways, the Book of

Mormon is true, folks.

I'm excited for this week and all the adventures ahead of us here in

Englewood. Patricia and Michael are rock stars, were hopeful we'll go

to the temple with them soon :)

Love you guys!!

Hermana Millington

New Jersey Morristown Mission