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
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| 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
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