June 24, 2013
Dear Family!
Your trip to Chicago sounds amazing!!!!! I love love love that city. Glad to hear that you guys had a great time.
As for things here on the west coast, let just say this week was AMAZING!
I have so much to tell you! First, I'll start with your questions.
Every day seems to go a little different with district meetings and
such. But a typical day...well we get up every morning at 6:20am. One would
think after about a month of doing this, it would eventually become easier.
This is indeed false. I think my body is resisting because I don't even hear
the alarm go off in the morning anymore. But thank goodness for good
companions. They get me up. I've realized once I'm up, I'm awake, but it’s just
the whole deciding to wake up part that still could use some improvement. After
we get up we run. The rule is any kind of exercise, but President Baker has
informed us all that every missionary will run in the morning. So we run. It’s
actually a great blessing. One of my companions is a crazy runner, so we go to
a nearby park and run laps so she can go as fast as she wants. After that, we
get ready, eat breakfast, and study; first, personal study, then companion
study, then lunch, and then language. Often we are giving lessons so we have to
push languages to the end of the day. But you get the idea. The rest of the day
is either filled with lessons and visits to less actives or dinner
appointments. A few times we have had to do street contact and once we had to
knock on doors. I always thought street contacting/ knocking on doors would be
a bigger part of our day, but we have a handful of people to teach so its
not... thank goodness. We come home about 6 for dinner if we don't have a
dinner appointment and will either finish the day with a language study or
visit someone in the ward. It’s
fun, plus, my area is really close to the Visitors center so we are able to
teach there a lot.
Second, yes we did get to watch the mission broadcast. We kind of
didn't have a choice, but it was great! I really encourage you to go and watch
it. It’s amazing how the mission work is growing and expanding. I'm super
curious to see how the new changes will be implemented, but I'll keep you
updated. Also, I'm going to go up on my soapbox for a second, and totally
second everything that was said in the meeting about member missionary work. I cannot
stress enough how important the members are in the missionary work. Being on a
mission really makes me want to go home and be a better member missionary. You
guys are the ones that are living a life and interacting with friends and loved
ones everyday. You are the ones that will have the greatest impact on the lives
of recent converts. Sure the full-time missionaries are great, but we leave. We
come and teach and leave. New converts need friends. We struggle a lot because
we teach a lot of single men, who are great, but we cannot enter their homes
unless we have another woman present with us. We have had to teach outside or
on the front step a few times, when we can't find a member. So please help
the full time missionaries out.
Third, WE HAD A BAPTISM YESTERDAY! Best moment of the mission
experience so far. Saul, was baptized yesterday by another recent convert, Emilio.
Talk about a cool experience. Then even before the baptism on Sunday, my
companions and I went to stop by Saul's apartment just to check up on him. I
can't remember what I've told you about Saul, but he's great. When we first met
him, he had long black hair and just seemed really distant. But even in my
short time being here, we've seen a change. HE CUT HIS HAIR! We didn't even
have to tell him. And then he just seems happy. So we are talking to him on
Saturday. I ask him if he has any more questions, anything he wants to know
before he gets baptized, not really expecting him to have any but just throwing
it out there. He was like "I have one question... am I allowed to serve a
mission after I'm baptized?" I had to look at my companions to make sure I
had heard him right. And then I just wanted to cry with happiness. Saul wants
to serve a mission! How cool is that?! Honestly, there have been a few times
where I am like, "why did I do this to myself and come on a mission?"
And then I meet people like Saul where their whole world has been extremely
blessed with the gospel and everything is totally and completely worth it.
Actually it’s more than worth it. I feel as if my own life is being blessed. So
basically I'm stoked to keep working with Saul and the other people of LA.
We are meeting our new mission president this coming week and then
transfers are in two. I can't believe how fast the month of June went. Someone
told me once that on the mission "The days feel like weeks, but the weeks
feel like days." And that is so true.
During my whole mission experience, I've been trying to really study
the New Testament. Jesus Christ was the perfect example, so basically he is the
perfect teacher to learn from. One pattern I've noticed so far is every time
Christ performed a miracle he first saw the people’s faith. Miracles happen people! We just have to
have faith first. And it’s the same kind of theme in Elder Holland's last
General Conference talk. He talks about how the man asks Christ to bless his
son and help his faith. I really encourage you all to read it and use your
faith. You'll see the miracles. I promise.
LOVE YOU ALL. And miss you like crazyy!
Hermana Mikayla Pillar
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| "The meeting house we attend" |
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| Saul |
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| Our living room/study room |
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| Our gate |
Mikayla shared this story in a snail mail. "So funny story...this gate is always open. We have to walk through it to get into our apartment. (My back is facing the apartment). Anyways, it is always open. A few days ago it was shut. Hermana Perry tried opening the lock with the key. No luck. We all tried, nothing. So Hermana Perry starts climbing the wall. She gets over and then Hermana Buckley goes. I'm standing there like, "no way". Plus there's this man walking by with his kid and giving us a look like, "what are they doing"? So I prayed. I asked Heavenly Father if I could get threw without climbing the wall. I walked over to the gate and realized the lock was broken. I tried pulling. The gate swung right open. Moral of the story, the church is true."
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| Hermana Perry & Hermana Pillar at Tito's Tacos |
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