15-Day-Quarantine and Alma 32:27

Greetings Elder Milne!

Wow! What an interesting time for you and for all of us. We received word that Peru is on a 15 day lock-down. This will be an interesting experience for you, but might also give you time to work hard on the learning the Spanish language and to get creative with your missionary work! Stay calm and positive, and do all you can to cultivate a stronger relationship with the Spirit (as President Nelson has asked - learn how the Spirit speaks to you; learn to hear Him). Missionary work without the Spirit of the Lord guiding and directing it is in vain. Please know we love and miss you very much, but we are comforted knowing the Lord has his hand on you at all times. We pray for you daily (multiple times), and we are confident they are heard and answered on your behalf. We are hoping to hear from you today to get an update on how everything is going. Please take this time to get some much needed rest, to study the scriptures more in depth, and to work on your Spanish.

We are all in Rio Rancho this week. Mom, Dallin, Hayley, Carter, and Carley all drove here on Saturday to spend the week with dad. Yesterday (Sunday) we had an amazing day. Bishop Smith gave the priesthood holders permission to administer the sacrament in their homes, so we had a very special sacrament meeting. Dad conducted and was in charge of the music, mom gave the opening prayer, Carter blessed the Sacrament and dad passed it, Carley and Carter gave two amazing talks, Dallin and Hayley then taught the Come Follow Me lesson for this week (Jacob 1-4), and dad did the closing song and prayer. It was amazing and the Spirit was so strong. We thought of you throughout the meeting and of course prayed for you throughout the day. 

Things are a bit crazy here in the United States and a little uncertain. Schools have been closed, and when Spring Break is over, everyone will go to an online format. Mom's classes will pretty much remain the same, and she will continue to see clients on Wednesday nights, but has been told her class lengths maybe shortened - yay!! Dad's work schedule hasn't been affected yet, but they are taking extra precautions to make sure they are doing extra sanitizing, etc...  Other than all of that, life continues on as usual. Not much else to tell you. We brought Buster and Millie with us to New Mexico. They seem excited to be back in the backyard. 

Yesterday, Dallin took a trip down memory lane as they looked at all the pictures and videos saved on our home computer. It was awesome to see so many happy memories. We have attached a special picture of your baptism in Minnesota for you. We will also try and attach a funny video of Carter playing the piano and singing and you joining him with some background dancing - haha! 

Well, not much else to share. How are things with your new companion? How are things going as you lead in this area? How are the people doing you are teaching? Are you still able to meet with them? Take care of yourself son, stay healthy and safe, and know you are loved more than you can ever imagine. Be at peace - all is well!

Mom and Dad

Ty's Baptism in Minnesota

Hey Everyone!

Well, things are definitely getting interesting. We are now on a 15 day quarantine. So, it looks like I'll be spending a lot of time learning Spanish and catching up on some sleep - haha. Our mission president has done a good job making sure we have plenty of food and water to last. I know this quarantine is necessary but I'm still frustrated. Our friend Jose had scheduled to be baptized on March 25th. We then realized due to the quarantine that wasn't going to be possible so we challenged him to be baptized Sunday (which was yesterday). He said he didn't feel like he was ready. We thought he was ready so I said to him, "Jose, do you have a desire to follow Jesus Christ?" He said yes, so I shared with him Alma 32:27 and told him that having a desire to believe and a desire to be baptized was enough. The Spirit was so strong when I shared this and he said yes, he would be baptized this Sunday. Well, then of course church was canceled, and now we have to wait until after the 15 day quarantine. Because church was canceled, we had the opportunity to take the Sacrament to some of the members of our ward and also to the 9-year-old girl who was recently baptized. Her whole family participated in the sacrament. It was a really cool experience. This past week I also went to Lima and met with our mission president and the group of missionaries I came to Peru with. We all got to share how things were going for us. I was happy to find out my Spanish is going as good or better than the missionaries in my group. Some of the missionaries were really discouraged with the language and their areas. I feel like I have been very blessed to have a good trainer and to be serving in an awesome area, and my Spanish is really improving. My mom asked me in her email if I am struggling being homesick. I told her I wasn't and then told her I had a dream a few nights ago that I was back home in Utah and instead of being really excited, I was really sad because I wasn't on my mission. I know this is where I am supposed to be, and I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve the Lord. Even though this is a really crazy time for everyone right now, there is no place I'd rather be. I love you all and thank you for your love and support. Elder Milne PS... Sorry for the delay on the email. I am currently in New Mexico and things have been a little crazy. It was really fun talking to Ty this week. His brothers and their cute wives were here, so we all got to visit with Ty. He looked and sounded so good. He truly has the missionary glow. I have seen so much growth in his testimony and overall maturity. I have been praying everyday he would be blessed with the gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues, and I truly believe my prayers are being answered. He and Carter talked back and forth in Spanish and Ty taught us the first discussion in Spanish. Wow! It was so awesome. This is such a crazy time for everyone, especially missionaries. Please continue to pray for all of them throughout the world. Love you all - Natalie

Elder Milne's First Transfer and Inca Cola

We didn't get to email Ty because he told us he would be talking to us on Tuesday. Well, he surprised us and emailed and called on Monday instead. 

Hey Everyone,

I know I told everyone that my p-day would be tomorrow because of transfers, but we had some last minute changes. I ended up with the zone leader today while my trainer went to his new area and so we had some time to call. I am getting a new companion later today. His name is Elder Jordan. He is from somewhere in Utah, and he is going to be the district leader. I’ve been working hard trying to learn our area so I can help him adjust here. Elder Arnold was a great trainer. I will miss him.

This week was definitely better than last week. We did a lot of walking again, but this time we met a ton of new contacts and we have been teaching some awesome people. On March 28th our friend Jose Angel will be baptized. He is 23 years old and is the boyfriend of one the ward members here. She basically laid the law down to him and told him she wouldn’t marry him unless he was a member of the church. He has been taking the discussions and has been to church the past four weeks. One cool thing that happened with Jose is when we taught him about the first vision. We usually get a negative reaction when we teach the first vision to people, but Jose got really excited and said that this was a huge blessing because now we finally know which church is true. I felt the Spirit so strong when he said this and it made me really happy.

We are also teaching an 11 year old and 13 year old. Their parents are members but have not been active in the church for a long time. Well, they have started coming again so they want us to teach their kids. We have a great ward here. I’m afraid I’m going to get fat though. Every time we go to a member’s house they serve us Inca Cola. Everyone here drinks Inca Cola and all of their teeth are rotten. The other day I had Inca Cola five different times. I’m going to have to start telling them no before my teeth fall out. Inca Cola isn’t really cola. It tastes like bubble gum haha.

Mission life is hard and the days are long but I decided the long days just give me more time to learn Spanish haha. Thanks everyone for your support. I hope everyone is doing good. Love you all.

Elder Milne

PS. Ty sounded really good today. I could definitely hear the confidence and courage in his voice. He spoke excitedly about his mission experiences and the people they are teaching. I am amazed at the growth he has already experienced. He is sounding more confident with his Spanish, and the anxiety he expressed last week wasn't there today. My prayers for him are definitely being answered. 

Shoutout to Future Missionaries

Hello Baby son turned full time missionary,

We are excited to hear about another adventurous week in Ica, Peru.

It’s fascinating to see our youngest son engage himself with such devotion and dedication for such a cause. We are proud of you Ty, we know the road has often been difficult, but you have hung in there and risen to the challenge of missionary labor.

We have seen you participate in and witness baptisms already on your mission.  We feel this to be a great blessing for you so early in your mission because it allows you to experience something very similar to when Christ himself was baptized and Heavenly Father sent the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove for all in attendance to see and feel. Baptisms are a special time when the Spirit is extra strong and truths are seared into our hearts. Have you been able to reflect upon the significance of what you witnessed as covenants were made between God and man and a newness of life came forth. Those who are baptized and those who participate in that baptism will always remember the way they felt and the beauty of their surroundings just as the people of Alma in the Book of Mormon did. Mosiah 18:30:

And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever.

Ty, we know you are feeling frustrated with the language. Every missionary does for at least six months. Continue to work at it each day, and little by little you’ll start seeing improvement. Carter recommends reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish alongside your English Book of Mormon each day. He felt this made the biggest difference for him. We will continue to pray for you and that you will be blessed with the gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. We also pray for your safety and happiness each day as well. Today we have included you in our fast. We are here together in New Mexico writing this email and then off to church with the Searle’s. 

We attended the BYU vs UNM baseball game yesterday in Albuquerque. You’ve played on that same field. Dad, 30 years ago, also played UNM in Albuquerque as a BYU Cougar. He never dreamed he would be living and working here 30 years later. It was a fun outing, but BYU didn’t play so well.

Hope you are happy and doing well. We will be together in Bloomfield tomorrow and both of us should be able to talk to you. We can’t wait to see your handsome face!

With Love,

Mom and Dad

Hey Everyone,

I'm sorry this is going to be short. We only have one hour to email and call our friends and family. I look forward to hearing from you each week and hearing how everyone is doing. I just wish I had more time to respond to each of you. Uncle Kirk and Barbara, thank you for your email and love. Diane and Connor Eyre, thank you for the money - Love you guys. Again, thanks everyone for your love, emails, and prayers. I am loving my mission, but I'm not going to lie, this week was tough. We had a lot of cancellations and had to do a lot of walking. Plus the people we are teaching that have accepted baptism are making all kinds of excuses for not coming to church. So we have to figure out how to motivate them to come to church so they can feel the Spirit there and meet the awesome ward members. Then they can be baptized.

I am feeling less stressed about the language. I am learning a little each day. But I am feeling really stressed about this upcoming transfer. My trainer Elder Arnold will likely be moving on, and I will stay here in Ica. I will get a new companion, but I have to show him around all the area and everything. Today for p-day we made copies of the map for our area and I had to make sure I know it. We have great ward members and bishop so if all heck breaks loose I know I can count on them to bail me out - haha!

I also want to give a shout out to my good friends Luke Green and Logan Wilstead. Luke just received his mission call to Milan, Italy. I am so pumped for him. Logan is in the process of getting his papers turned in. They will both be great missionaries. I've already decided that serving a mission is the best decision I've made in my life. It is really hard sometimes but during the hard times I say an extra prayer and the Lord always blesses me to feel better.  Love all of you.

Elder Milne

PS... Ty looks really good (nothing like that missionary glow), but he still tears up every time we talk to him for a few seconds, and then he is fine. This time I asked if it was because he was homesick, and he said no, it was because he is nervous about this transfer, getting a new companion, and not being able to tell the new companion everything he needs to know about the new area. I could feel his stress and recognized his struggle, but my heart smiled a little because I recognized his stress stems from wanting to be prepared and do a good job. This tells me his heart is in the right place instead of back home and that he wants to be a good missionary. We miss Ty like crazy, but there is no place else we'd rather him be right now. Serving a mission is hard, especially when you are in a completely different culture, but I can testify that it is worth the wrestle. The growth and development that takes place is incredible. Thank you all for your love, and please keep Elder Milne in your prayers. I just copied and pasted his email, so if you want to email him directly, his email is: ty.milne@missionary.org