HOLY I AM SO LUCKY!!!

 "HOLY I AM SO LUCKY!!!"

⬆️truly been the quote of my mission and most certainly the quote of this week!!

This week I finished training Hermana Bell and seriously what a privledge. She is an incredible missionary and one of my greatest friends ever. We both grew a ton and I'm so lucky to know her!

Crazy news and then even CRAZIER news!!

I officially left the Potomac River ward. Tears. I've spent my entire mission in Woodbridge and I couldn't be more grateful for that area and that ward. They seriously loved me so hard and every single one of them changed my life. Seriously!

Ok now for the craziest part. 

I'm serving in Spring Lake (tbh no idea where I am) and my companion? HERMANA MORALES! MY TRAINER! I've only spent one transfer of my mission without Hermana Morales so this is so exciting! And we're STLing the Spanish Zone so my Spanish is about to be stretched and grow so much!!

We had our new Spanish Stake Meeting and it was INCREDIBLE!!! Seeing all the members was so beautiful and having a stake is going to change everything here. Genuinley stoked out of my mind!

Other Noteable Things:

-saw Oscar with everyone together!

- used an ATM to try and do laundry!

- Zone Pday!!! So so fun (always said I never want to be a mate RM but I'm starting to be persuaded that its good. Had some today straight from Uruguay and definitely better!)

Overall, some really hard stuff happened this week, yet overall I'm the happiest I've ever been! Focusing on Jesus Christ who is the source of ALL joy has changed everything for me!! Also if you're looking for a good talk, Compensatory Blessings by Elder Gerald Cerr is SO good. The Atonement of Jesus Christ covers EVERYTHING!!

I love you! God loves you! I love my mission but it is because I love Jesus Christ!

Hermana Miller

Best Week Ever

 Best week ever!!

Oscar was baptized on Saturday! Literally such a special day to watch him make a covenant with Heavenly Father. Things got crazy with the storm that's blasting the east coast so we ended up having to change it up last minute but it still was so good. 

This whole week Oscar wanted to celebrate his baptism so ate crazy! Texas Roadhouse, Mexican Meatballs, Peruvian food, Pupusas, Baleadas, Taquitos, and of course Pizza (literally consumed 4 pizza this week 2 of which were Costco sized) It was insane BUT I'm so so grateful to have people that love me so much and are so gracious and willing to share!

With this storm things were insane and we were 90% sure there was an apocalypse happening people were freaking out lol but honestly valid it was the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Straight ice falling from the sky like not snow or rain but ice. It sounded like a little piano tune as it hit the ground. So sick. 

This week I was reading the talk "Sir We Would Like to See Jesus" HOLY so good. Covenants are what help us to know the Savior! 

At the end of the day 10/10 week. I'm so so so so grateful to be here. 

"Yeah, I think she's going to hit us"

 This week was awesome!! We had Zone Conference, President Interviews, Noche de Testimonios, and 2 Baptisms! So spiritually filling and so fun! (it's always nice to get out of routine a little bit)

Crazy spiritual promptings this week! We went to go visit a member we've never met and it ended up being the house of someone who goes the the English ward. His name is King and he is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and we found him as such a crazy time. The story is long and complicated but it was an answer to each of our prayers in a different way. Tender that we have a God who knows all of us. 

Everyday I spend here reminds me that God has a plan for each of us. He knows us personally and he sends deliverance in the perfect way at the perfect time. His time. We had someone come to church this week who I initially met MY FIRST DAY? I distinctly remember our conversation that day in the rain that she wasn't really interested but agreed to get the information and then there she was 4 months later!! AND SHE ACCEPTED THE INVITATION TO BE BAPTIZED FEBRUARY 8TH!!! Huge testimony builder for me that there is power in invitations!! A mission this week was talking about how much joy we can have in our mission if we just LOVE the invitation we get to give, regardless of the response that people have. so true. 

We went to the National Marine Corps Museum today and that was so sick. I was crying the whole time I am not made for that holy cow. So cool though 10/10 would reccomend visiting. 

Other Noteable Things:

-got in a car accident on the freeway. yikes. luckily everyone was ok! 

-a nice man in a parking lot gave me two really nice pens. he was nice.

-ANGEL IS BACK FROM GUATEMALA!!!!!

-Oscar came out and knocked doors with us!! Future missionary???

-Perfect Michael got baptized!! (record for longest baptism in the Potomac River Ward ever)

- yum pupusas with Hermana Machucha!

-made Baleadas (shoutout Makayla's catracha companion)

-Andherson got baptized!

- my fish from home died :( rip Mike Trout

Oscar gets baptized next week and I might exploded into a million pieces of like confetti I am so so excited!!!! I've poured every single ounce of my soul into him and I could not be more stoked. 

God is real. I know it. I know you loves you! I do too!!

Hermana Miller

5 months?

 BIG NEWS INCOMING!!!!

It's official. The Northern Virginia Area has officially announced the creation of its first ever Spanish Stake. THIS IS HUGE!! Literally decades of prayers and fasting and hoping and working have gone into this decision and I couldn't be more excited for our friends. Members of these wards will now have new opportunities to hold stake callings which they are so ready for. The work is progressing x2 speed here and it's seriously an honor to be even the smallest part of it. 

On a more regular note we had a great week!! We're finally over all of our illness and really just on the grind everyday. This week we set some high goals for our area and ways we wanted to improve. We gave it our best effort to speak Spanish 100% (literally so hard) but we saw HUGE miracles!!! We found so many new friends, we were led more by the Spirit, we had people keeping commitments, it was nuts. So cool. 

Oscar is still on his baptism prep grind and I am genuinely stoked out of my mind for the 25th of January. We met Oscar in the beginning of November as he was getting his car jumped. We shared about the  Book of Mormon and invited him to start reading and we've been working with him ever since! He has had a lot of questions, but he has also had so much faith and watching his testimony develop has been truly one of the sweetest experiences of my life. He came to Stake Conference on Sunday and was able to meet our mission President, Stake President, and the presiding authority Elder Barcellos! It was seriously so tender to watch as each of them greeted him with hugs and smiles and congratulations about his decision to be baptized. Because God knows all of his children, Elder Barcellos knows Spanish and was able to talk to Oscar without any translation. Watching this special witness of Jesus Christ testify of the blessings of baptism to my very own friend Oscar was unreal and I'm so grateful for that experience. love it. 

In Stake Conference Elder Barcellos talked about binding ourselves to Jesus Christ through covenants! This bind brings confidence, protection, and deep and lasting joy!! So true. 

We did a lot of door knocking this week and got to meet so many wild people. So many people in towels and underwear and pajamas. Iconic.

I went on an English exchange! It was terrifying!! Special shoutout to every stateside English speaking missionary. You are doing the toughest work out there I'll tell ya it was not my cup of tea. BUT it made me realize that I don't really know how to do missionary work in English and that is something I need to work on because what? Luckily in that exchange we met a few people who spoke Spanish and I was able to talk to them with a little more confidence lol. And someone gave me a homemade scarf!!

Other Notable Things:

- drank this drink from El Salvador called atole de pina, wow that is a doozy I was extremely unwell after but yum!

-rained tons!! so fun I love the rain.

-I've been loving Spanish crosswords lately at the library

-got Biggie Bags with Oscar again lol he hates that stuff

-met a guy who used to be a landlord for the Elders in El Salvador! He had the cutest cat ever

- the APs thought it was funny to give me 6 heart attacks this week :)

- met this guy on a bike who is really interested in the church and then we found out we also ran into him and his wife on News Years so that was funny. It's been happening a lot. baller.

- been cookin up smoothies this week mmm

-ripped all my tights so now I have like half footie pajamas on at all times

- oh also I hit 5 months so that's crazy

-Jonathan S. Schmitt is the guy to know in this place. I love you dearly king. 

Please pray for Oscar and Marci!

I love you! God Loves you! Stay strong

Hermana Miller

Gato se murio :(

 Feliz nuevo ano! Spent lots of time home sick this week but we were still able to have lots of lessons over the phone and make tons and tons and phone calls! Still a success!

On Sunday Santos (who we taught/baptized about a month and a half ago) showed up to church all bundled up and he had walked for AN HOUR to get there!! He was freezing but he was telling us how important it was to him to be at church so he made sure he was there. So good. AND it was perfect because he was able eto recieve the Aaronic Priesthood and get his temple reccomend!!! I got to be in there for his ordination and it was so tender. AND the bisopric gave him a SUIT!!! My heart exploded into a million pieces genuinley. So next week he'll get to come to church and pass the sacrament IN HIS SUIT!! AND we get to go to the temple either this weekend or the next so I am so stoked for all of that. So good. 

Had so many random experiences in the streets this week it was so wild so funny. It's always something new over here. 

I've been reading a lot of Elder Holland's talks again this past week and I loved his insights in the talk "Waiting on the Lord" 10/10 talk. He talks about how in the struggle is where we are able to develop divine qualites. I have totally seen that this year that as I faced struggles a a missionary and in regular life, that those were the times where I grew the most!

2025 was likely my favorite year yet. It was full of so many different experiences and people with finishing my first year of college, playing for BYU, working endless jobs, biking at the Abatement, playing in Europe, lots of time with family, seeing a lot of miracles with my health, making and keeping covenants with God, spending lots of time in the sun, learning so much about culture, moving across the country, taking a solo trip to New York City, making so many new best friends, learning Spanish!

I accomplished a lot this year. I traveled. I had a lot of fun. I worked really hard. But of course in the wise words of my Mom, much more importantly, my character developed so much this year. I learned a lot about who I am and the things I am capable of as I include God in my life. Not just as a missionary but also as a student, athlete, employee, coach, daughter, friend, seriously in every aspect of my life. I learned how to not take things so seriously and channel my passion better, how to study, how to be more independent, how to be more empathetic, and I learned there is a lot I want to keep working on!

2026 will likely be the most unique year of my life as I will spend the entirety of it as a full time missionary!! While that idea is daunting and slightly overwhelming, it also is something I'm really excited for. This year of my life will be the most consecrated time I have to get to know my Savior and to fully focus on the joy His gospel brings into my life! And the life of every person I meet! I get the opportunity to declare glad tidings of great joy to every person I see. every. single. day. in 2026. And I'm stoked out of my mind. 

I love you! God loves you! 2026 is YOUR year! 

Hermana Miller

Other Noteable Things

-saw a dead cat

ALSO!!!!! I saw a bald eagle in the wild!!! And a Great Blue Heron!! We bird watched with this nice woman named Erika and it was awesome.

ok that's all seriously 

Feliz Navidad?

 Feliz Navidad?

Merry Christmas from Virginia!

First Christmas as a missionary was awesome and we spent the day doing service and talking to people in the streets. Most of the people here in Woodbridge celebrate on the 24th so it was fun to have Christmas one day earlier! We ate lots of pan con pollo!! We got to help a random man wash his car! 

I'm getting to the point in this area where I'm starting to run into a lot of people I've already met before which has actually been really special! There have been some joyous reunions in Wendy's parking lots and public parks across Woodbridge. 

My Spanish is really starting to improve which has been a huge blessing considering Hermana Bell and I are both new so we're starting to stay afloat. The gift of tongues is real and  God really does qualify us for the work He asks us to do!!

And Christmas miracle!! We ran into a recent convert German at the park and it was a huge tender mercy!

This week we taught our friend Oscar about the Word of Wisdom as he prepares for his baptism and we broke the news about coffee, that if he wanted to get baptized he would need to stop drinking coffee. He was quiet for a minute and we were terrified but he finally responded telling us "How beautiful is it that I get to sacrifice something for God?" Woah!! And he is so right!! When we see commandments and responsibilities as an opportunity that we have to show our love for Heavenly Father, it changes EVERYTHING!! Mission life and regular life comes with a lot of responsibilities and guidelines that can feel restricting or exclusive, but Oscar's perspective has helped me so much to see those moments as opportunities to sacrifice!! I don't know if that makes sense but it was a really tender moment for me and I love him. 

Other than that I was really sick and we couldn't leave the house for a couple days so that was pretty sad BUT we still got some missionary work done!

Notable Things!

-Olven bought us McDonalds

-a lady knocked on our car window in the pitch black and we screamed so loud

-saw a parks officer do a trick on his motorcycle that also had a sidecar

-helped make food with a member (turned out it got fed to the elders #jealous)

-was literally healed for church 

-made a charcuterie board

-ate my first full crab

Love you!

Hermana Miller

Rubber Ducks and Jabon Zote

 Hello all! Merry Christmas! The new transfers started and I am out of training and now training a new missionary! Hermana Bell is AWESOME! She's eager to learn and super committed and a super mega athlete so I'm getting back into shape which is good.I am still in the Potomic River Ward in Woodbridge which is awesome the members are great so I'm really happy about that!

Tuesday I saw World Peace in action in the morning and then the most opposite of world peace I've ever seen. It was insane. Then I had to say goodbye to Hermana Morales and Hermana McGee which was painful because I love them so much. Truly some of my best friends. BUT it's ok and God needs us in other places right now. 

This week we had so many member meals (per usual) but even more because of transfers and so we had 4 member meals in one day!! I thought I might die!! It was wonderful though and I love the members and they are so kind. They bought me presents for Christmas and these women know me so well they got me my favorite Jabon Zote! I promise you this stuff will change your life forever, it is incredible, amazing, and a game changer!! I love it. We sang lots of carols and did lots of service!

I've been feeling a lot of guidance from the Spirit about how I can do the missionary work- where to go, who to visit, where to study and that has been awesome! We knocked a door and it turned out it was someone Hermana Bell knew! He had just gotten heart surgery and needed lots of help lifting stuff into his truck so we got to do that and have a delicious meal and lesson together!

On Saturday we had pancakes with the Stake President which is always a fun morning because I LOVE PRESIDENT AND SISTER BLAIR!!! For my fun fact I talked about my rubber duck collection and they gave me duck!! It was awesome. And for a little Sisters Activity we did a White Elephant and I got two more rubber ducks today so that is a win.  

ALSO two recent converts went to the temple for the first time this week and my soul shattered into a million pieces because that is incredible and I'm so happy for them.