Monday, March 31, 2014

Soooooo this week was probably the hardest week of my life, haha, but really good. I'm sick with a sore throat and a headache today. I was up at 4:00 this morning to go to Neuquén to renew my temporary visa. Great pday..... not.

What to report on this week. We actually had a super successful week! We met basically all of our goals and rocked it. Taught 11 lecciones con miembros, Recibidas 7, Contactadas 5, got 7 nuevos investigadores. Seriously bomb! And we had 2 investigators assistir a la iglesia. Just realized that I wrote that all in Spanish. Seriously some terms I only know in Spanish, but like bomb week.

We did a lot of walking this week. Seriously walk and walk and walk, but it's ok. We had to get 2 bus cards today, the busses don't accept cash anymore so that was fun this morning when we realized we only had 15 pesos on our card. Seriously my companion called the zone leaders like 5 times at 6:00 in the morning. I'm pretty sure, no actually I know she's like one of the crazy sisters who relies on the Elders for everything. I feel so bad for them. They probably think I'm crazy too, but I have no idea most of the time what is going on. Every time she calls the Elders I'm thinking, Brant Hansen told me not to be a crazy missionary, or like all the people who told me they had crazy sisters in their mission, like Matt Alston. Oh well.

My Spanish is good and bad depending on the day. We taught a new investigator this week. Hermana Morales asked me to do the first vision so I did. I don't know if I said something wrong but she looked at me so stupid.  Guhhhhh it's so frustrating sometimes!!!! But last night I was throwing the Spanish DOWN. It was awesome. I keep telling myself I can't rush it. It'll come.

Also Mother's Day is so soon. I'm so stoked to see your freaking beautiful faces! 5 days after this transfer and bomb. Mommy day. whooooopppppppp

I hope Dray had a fabulous birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you like my card?? =) Tell me if you like the candy!!

What else.... those little boys be looking so cute. Dad and Keaton look like they're having the time of their life on their trip...for now. Who knows, that might change once they climb the mountain! Hahaha, I wish them luck. Dads beard though, I hate.

Well, sending my love back home! Hoping mom can survive without dad and Keaton at home!!!! love love love you guys more than life! Have a fabulous week!!!!

xoxoxoxox
Kenzie

Monday, March 24, 2014 - PICS

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY JO!

 Hermana Cordeva

Monday, March 24, 2014

Whooooooo baptisms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk about amazing! Nothing like experiencing 7 baptisms in my first area in the mission ya! It was so amazing! guh! The spirit was so strong and I basically just bawled during all of the baptisms! I played the piano and we sang 2 songs! The presidente and his wife even came, as well as the assistants to the president! It was amazing! =)

This week really has been crazy though! With rushing to teach all the final lessons, with my birthday, with the baptisms, with planning everything, it was LOCO. But so good! 

So for my birthday the Elders had a fiesta. With cake and birthday music! It was so cute! Hermana Villoloba's birthday was the 19th so we celebrated for the both of us! They took us to a room and started singing then opened the divider and had this big party thing. It was fun!

That same day we had to teach Rigoberto like 3 lessons! So it was crazy! That made us an hour late for our lesson with Jose and Maria, and the celebration for my birthday. So we scrounged up enough money to take a taxi to their place. They had pizza, pop, and 2 cakes! I've eaten so much cake this weekend it's terrible. They sang to me in Spanish and English. It was awesome! Happy berfday de tu! Hahahah I love them so much! Then we were super late leaving. We should have been in our pension by the time we left. They called a taxi for us and gave us money for the taxi! Talk about feeling the love that day! Aww, it was so so so nice!!!! =) Really awesome birthday! Plus Hermana Lovell called me, the AP's (assistant to the president), and families would send me texts! It was so nice!

Yesterday after church we went to the Cordeva's house and celebrated Francos baptism. There was steak, chicken, sausage, salad, and cake. They just keep feeding you and feeding you. Even if you don't want more. Then we went to Hermana Bruni's house to eat more because Heremana Rainsdon is getting transferred  Noooooo. I love her. So there was more food and more cake. Then we went to family Cares because they had cake for Hermana Villoloba's and myself for our birthdays. It was so much cake and so much food. There was a scale at Hermana Bruni's house and I wanted to cry. So I've basically decided I'm not going to eat food anymore. Hahaha

Anyway, needless to say this week was amazing! Seeing the baptisms yesterday solidified everything. All the sadness, loneliness and depression I've felt being here was so much worth it when I watched them get baptized!  The spirit testified to me so strongly! Wow, it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen! I love this gospel so much! It is soooo true! The blessings that we receive from the gospel are amazing. God really has a way to make us feel loved. He definitely hears our prayers because he has answered mine in ways I can't even explain. I've grown to love the gospel so much being out here. It breaks my heart when people don't even want to hear our message because they don't even know how amazing it is.But when people accept it like Franco and Rigoberto, it's the most amazing experience! 

Hope you have a great week! Dad and Keaton travel safely! Have fun! Be strong! I can't wait to hear about all your experiences! You guys are amazing and you're going to rock it! So happy we get to e-mail! LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!! HAVE A FABULOUS WEEK!

Sending my love to the family today too as it is Jo's birthday! I love that girl so much! Hope the balloon release was good and you guys stayed warm! Love you love love love love!

xoxoxoxoox

Hermana Miller

Monday, March 17, 2014 - PICS

 Fractura, best thing ever!

 Helping Hermana Bruni make gnocchi!

A sunset, the sky is beautiful here!!

Monday, March 17, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!!!!

First off I can't believe Dad and Keaton leave for Everest in a week! Is it bad to say that I'm kinda having a heart attack about it! Praying you guys will be safe!

I honestly feel like I'm hiking Mount Everest every day! I want to cry most the time! The work is so hard, I should have walked before my mission or something! Hahaha because we walk for hours. On Thursday I actually broke down in tears because I felt like I couldn't do this anymore. Not only was it hard spiritually, but I've been having this problem with my leg. There is a muscle above my ankle that kills! It sometimes is a hard ball and really red. It makes it really hard to just keep pushing forward. I've been icing it at night and praying like every hour of the day that I can just keep going. The trials you face on a mission...

I finally got all my letters! 2 weeks ago I got a whole whopping 9!!!! It was so awesome! Made my life! Also I got one from Carson the week after! 

Big news!!! Rigoberto our investigator who lives in Chacras. We have to take a 15 minute bus and walk for basically an hour to visit, received an answer to his prayer and is getting baptized on March 22nd! What a blessing it was to see him accept a baptism date! Because we've been working and working with him and he just refused. At sacrament meeting he had the biggest smile on his face when they announced his baptism! and Franco gave the biggest fist pump when they said his name. I also had the biggest smile on my face. Wow do I ever love them! We had 4 investigators attend sacrament meeting on Sunday! Awesome no! Alsooooooo the attendance in sacrament was 85!!! RECORD! WHOOOOP!!!!

We had a zone conference on Friday! That was cool, my first zone conference! I had to say the closing prayer which basically gave me a heart attack because I had to break our fast and bless the food. Hermana Morales was like whispering what to say in my ear, reminded me of the little boys hahahaha.

Thank you for the birthday wishes! I can't believe I'm 20 on Thursday! I don't want to be 20! hahahaha =(  I feel so old, but whatever! Familia Cordeva are having a fiesta for me! =) They're like what is your favorite food, what do you want to do, what is your favorite cake! haha I love them! They're awesome! It's actually at our investigators house, Jose. So I'll have to send ya pics of that!

Hoping you got all my pics, not sure what I sent. But a picture with a fractura, best thing ever.  Me with Hermana Bruni! She made us gnocchi and we helped her make it! She's awesome! A sunset! The sky is beautiful here! Not sure what else but I hope you got them!

Also terrible experience! Haha, so here you greet with besos on your checks right. So we were at a members house waiting and waiting so she can come teach with us. She has a handicapped son, but he's like really old. I'm not sure what his problem is. He tried to greet me and we can't so I'm like trying to say no to this old man who doesn't understand. Seriously his lips were like inches away from mine. It was the most frightening thing ever. He also smelt so bad because he smokes. Ahhh terrifying! Kid you not. 

Also I can snap my fingers! Like the way Carson does. I do it more often than I probably should but it's so fun! hahaha

Love you guys! Hope dad and Keaton get prepared for Everest! Be safe! Love you guys so much! Also praying for grandma and that everything will be ok with her leg! So happy you guys went down to Echo! I miss Echo so much! It's crazy! Miss you guys! Love you sooooo much! Have a great week!

xoxoxoxo

Love Hermana Miller

Monday, March 10, 2014

Wow. Today was crazy! Like seriously no time today. Hahahaha, I'm so stressed writing this email!! Because I wanna say so much but it feels like I have no time so bear with me.

So this week was crazy! We GOT ANOTHER FECHA! Jose has accepted a baptismal date of April 5th! What a blessing! He is awesome!

This week I attended a funeral. That was hard, because I hadn't been to a funeral since Jordens'. I really didn't wanna go, but we felt that we should attend because it is our investigators and meimbro inactivos daughters baby. She ended up having it premature, he lived for only 2 weeks. It was so different from a funeral back home. just this little little baby in a small wooden casket. The parents were distraught, but we got their contact information and the Elders are visiting them tomorrow. They don't have a big service just an open casket type deal. I remember sitting there and having memories rush back to me about Jorden. It was really hard, good thing I didn't wear make up that day because the tears just kept coming. As I was walking away with tears in my eyes, I remembered Aunt Tammy's email to me the first week I was in the CCM when she she wrote, I don't remember the exact words but "Jorden whispered to me, I'm serving a mission just like Makenzie" I don't know if it was just me being crazy, but I imagined her walking beside me, with a name tag on and everything. Biggest smile and telling me that everything is OK. That she is doing the Lords work. She seriously has reached out to me in the biggest times of need. What a blessing. I've been thinking about her a lot. Maybe because it's our birthday month, but I know that she is doing the Lords work and that there is life after death.

So yesterday I hated my life. I wanted to go home soooo much! Seriously did not want to be here. It happens a lot actually, lol, what a struggle the mission is. But then....the most crazy spiritual experience happened. We were waiting at the church to go to the hospital to visit a member who is really sick. They think he has cancer, but he doesn't  know. It's so sad. Anyway we went to the hospital and the hospital is so sad. Seriously, the living conditions here are crazy. We went and sang him hymnos and I was just overcome with the spirit. I started to get emotional, it was so sad, and he started to cry. Hermana Cares just sad on his bed and told him everything was going to be ok. Hermana Rainsdom (the sister from Utah and speaks English) she's awesome, she told me that him and his wife were saving up to be sealed in the temple. They were baptized in August. I thought what an amazing church we have, that he has so many people who love him and that they would come to visit him. I seriously think I saw 15 members visiting him. He is an amazing person. I now know what it is like when missionaries say I love the people so much. Because I may not know him or talk to him, well I have a few times, but I feel so much love for him. I want the best for him and his family. What an amazing example. I love this church so much. I love my mission.

Today I can honestly say that I love my mission. I feel like everything has taken a flip around. Seriously, I feel like I have taken a 180 degree turn and that everything is good. I've accepted that this is my life for a year and a half. I'm so determined to work my hardest and to share the gospel with the people of Argentina!

Also that night is when Jose accepted a baptismal date. The Lord definitely reached out to me yesterday and showed me that He loves me. I love the gospel! Love you guys so much! Hope you have an amazing week!

Love you xoxoxooxox
Hermana Miller

Monday, March 3, 2014

Hola hola hola hola

Wow 2 months! How crazy is that! I feel like I haven't been here long at all. Throughout the week I wrote things down so this e-mail is gonna be real good. My mind won't be all over the place and I can actually focus, because last week honestly I was not all there. Haha, I could not focus. So here we go.

This week we didn't have any hot water in our pension. So all my showers were freezing cold, and for 24 hours we had no water. It was so crappy. Haha, not only do I hate showering in our shower because it's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen, but there was no hot water. It was the worst, but we have hot water now! So it's all good.

I dropped the hair extensions. I'm so over attempting to look good. I don't even straighten my hair either. I've just accepted that I'm going to be fat and ugly for a year and a half. Haha not really, but I finally found mousse here! Ugh, I was dying in the CCM without mousse. I thought they didn't have it at all here, but they do!  Booya. So Grandma Miller will be happy that my hair is constantly curly! LOL

I haven't gotten anyones letters yet! I don't know why! Keep 'em coming!  I need love from home! hahaha

Guess what! Our district in Roca has 25 baptisms on March 22! 25!!!!!!!!!!!!! And 1 of them is ours! =) Franco is bomb! I'm so stoked for him! I love watching him grow and accept the gospel and want to learn more! Every time he's at church I just want to give him the biggest hug! But handshake it is!

The food here. Oh my gosh. It is so delicious! The members feed you SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! Seriously. We had gnocchi one day, made me think of you mom because you love it and it was homemade! When I was watching her make it I got so nervous, because she dumped this pot of potatoes on the table, mashed them, put eggs in it. I'm like oh no I'm eating mashed potatoes with raw egg. Hahah but then she rolled it into gnocchi and I was like booya! So I know how to make it! =) The pastries here are delicious! They're called fracturas! Oh so good! I bought two this morning! Alfajors are still my absolute favorite though! I also bought those this morning too, but I bought homemade ones! I'm excited to try them! Also we rode a bus out 20 minutes to visit a meimbro inactivo, and we stopped and picked pears that had fallen onto the ground from the trees. So many pears! Haha seriously picked 2 dozen pears! They're so good! There is fruit growing in peoples yards! We'll pick grapes off their vines or pears. One time I think I saw pomegranates growing in someones yard!

The milk here is so weird. It's in bags, and the milk that isn't in bags is in cartons and it doesn't expire for like 8 months. It's so weird, seriously I bought milk the other day and it doesn't expire till August?! Why?  It tastes really weird too. But I eat and buy everything here that I don´t even like. I bought bananas and I make scrambled eggs in the morning. I eat toast and jam. and cereal....I hate cereal. I drink hot milk at night, like dad does and I never used to like it. But I guess a mission teaches you to do that. I make french toast a lot but they don't have powered sugar. Well I haven't found any yet.   Also they have dulce de leche here. It is soooo good! It's like caramel but so much better! You buy it in containers and I down 1 a week! I put it on everything; my french toast, my steamed milk, it's beauty! So delicious!

My clothes are ok... haha I really want to buy some, but it's hard because there isn't always a lot of time.  Since I really didn't bring that much, I'll listen to dads advice and buy some! I'm not complaining about new clothes hahaha!

In Argentina everyone greets everyone with a beso! On the cheek! I love it! The old grannys love to do the double cheeks! It's so cute! Haha, but it's so awkward when an hombre tries to because you're all awkwardly like ughhh no podemos. Haha, I hate it cause it's so awkward!

Well yep that's my life! Just living it up in Argentina! There are 3 wards in Roca! Two church buildings I believe and it's bomb! I love it here!  Also, the women here breast feed their babies with no blankets! Right in the middle of Church! Seriously boobs. One night I saw a woman sitting outside her door both boobs out and her baby just ughyhh it was weird. Don't see that in Canada for sure, haha!!

Love you guys so much! I miss you tons! This week I actually had my first breakdown because I missed you guys so much! 2 months in with 1 cry sesh, not bad I think, haha. But seriously it was a rough day for Kenz! But I'm so happy to be here! Can't wait to send you guys a pic of my first BAPTISM!!!!!! LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

LOVE HERMANA MILLER!!!
OOXOXOXOXO